h unhit. But if any of
us are wounded, the wounded must remain where they are; for any attempt
at rescue will mean the death of us all. Now then--go!"

As one man the five brave fellows sprang forward, hoping to reach the
launch before the Peruvians were ready for them. But the latter were on
the look-out, and as the men left their shelter, rifles and machine-guns
cracked and roared once more. Two men fell, literally riddled with
shot, but the others scrambled aboard the launch, and Jim gasped out,
"Go ahead, Terry!" not a moment too soon.

The launch had not got more than fifty yards away when there was an
appalling explosion, and the whole side of the hulk seemed to fall
bodily inward. She heeled over, and almost instantly plunged into the
depths of the bay, the waters of which at once closed over her, dragging
down the living and the dead, in the fearful vortex which she created.

Jim then sent up a blue rocket to call the other boats away, for it was
hopeless to attempt anything farther that night, and half an hour later
he was rejoined, just as day was dawning, by the _Almirante Cochrane_
launch, which was almost in a worse state than his own. She brought
word that the two monitors had been the _Manco Capac_ and _Atahualpa_,
and that the Hereschoff torpedo-boat, under Juarez, had blown up the
latter, but had herself been destroyed by the _Manco Capac_. Three men
only had been rescued from her crew, and these were on board the
_Cochrane's_ boat, which had herself lost nearly three-quarters of her
men. Taking it all round, however, the attacking force had not done so
badly, having destroyed a two thousand-ton ironclad and sunk a hulk full
of men and guns, with a loss of one small torpedo-boat, and seventeen
men killed.

Jim then gave orders for the wounded to be made as comfortable as
possible under the circumstances, and the two launches continued their
journey back to the fleet, which was reached about eight o'clock. The
young man immediately made his report to the commodore, and the latter,
who seemed to have no mind of his own, then called another council of
officers to decide whether they should enter the bay and destroy the
_Manco Capac_ and the forts, or whether they should take up the pursuit
of the other three Peruvian warships which had eluded them in so
mysterious a way.

It was unanimously decided to pursue, so as to prevent them from doing
any further damage; and Riveros therefore divided h