as standing across the stern of the Juno, which
endeavored to meet the manoeuvre as soon as it was seen; but, owing to
the loss of the jib and maintopsail and the fouling of the gear, she
did not answer the helm rapidly enough to escape the threatening danger.

"Stand by to rake her! Ready! Fire! Stand by to board!"

The effect of this raking broadside delivered at short range was awful;
the whole stern of the Juno was beaten in, and the deadly projectiles
had free range the full length of the devoted ship, which reeled and
trembled under the terrible shock. A moment of silence followed,
broken by shrieks and groans and a few feeble cheers from some
undaunted spirits. Then the Ranger, still falling off, a rank sheer of
the helm brought her beam against the stern of the Juno, when eager
hands hove the grapnels which bound the two ships together.

"Away, boarders!"

Certain of the men left their quarters at the guns, and cutlass and
pistol in hand, led by Jones himself, swarmed over the rail and on the
poop of the Juno. Two or three men were standing there among the dead
and wounded men, half dazed by the sudden catastrophe, but they bravely
sprang forward.

"Do you surrender?" cried Jones.

"No, you damned rebel!" answered the foremost, in the uniform of an
officer, crossing swords with him gallantly; but in a moment the sword
of the impetuous American beat down his guard and was buried in his
breast. With a hollow groan, he fell dying on the deck of the ship he
had so gallantly defended, while his men, borne back by the determined
rush of the Rangers, after a feeble resistance, threw down their arms,
crying, "Quarter, quarter!"

All this time the guns of that ship had been firing, one or two of them
depressed by Simpson's orders so as to pierce the hull below the
water-line, the rest sending their heavy shot ripping and tearing
through the length of the Juno, which was unable to bring a single gun
to bear in reply.

"Do you strike?" called Jones, from the break of the poop, his men
massed behind him for a rush through the gangways, to one or two of the
officers who were stationed there.

"Yes, yes, God help us," cried a wounded officer; "what else can we do?"

"Where's your captain?"

"Dead, sir," answered one of the seamen who had been seized by the
boarders. "Him you killed when you boarded."

"Poor fellow, he was a brave man, and fought his ship well."

"Captain, the frigate is bearing down up