y smoke, and a tremendous roar as both guns spoke simultaneously,
followed by a hoarse, screaming roar as the shells sped through the calm
morning air toward their mark. Both missiles struck on the unarmoured
portion of the _Huascar's_ bows, and pierced her through and through,
without exploding, however, as the thickness of steel penetrated was
insufficient to detonate the projectiles. The Peruvian at once replied
with a shot from her 300-pounder, which struck the _Blanco's_ navigating
bridge and blew it to pieces.

Meanwhile the _Cochrane_ had by this time circled round, and was running
on a course parallel to that of the monitor, and at the same time
driving her toward her consort, so that the unfortunate ship was now
between two fires. _Crash! crash_! roared the guns as the two Chilian
ironclads converged upon their quarry; and so excellent was their
gunnery that every shot told. Half an hour after the action had
commenced the _Huascar's_ tiller-chains were shot away, and she at once
yawed to starboard, almost in the track of the _Cochrane_. Captain
Latorre instantly saw that this was his opportunity to ram, and he
accordingly sent his ship straight at the helpless _Huascar_. But the
aberrations of the Peruvian ship's course introduced an element of
uncertainty which defied calculation, and the result was that the
_Cochrane_ dashed past her stern, missing her by a short five yards.

And now the _Blanco Encalada_ closed in on the other side of the doomed
ship, which was already on fire in several places from the disastrous
effect of the Chilian shells, and pounded her mercilessly; while the
Peruvians, on the other hand, fought their sorely pressed ship with a
desperate gallantry that excited the utmost admiration of their
opponents, and in the face of a perfect inferno of fire rove new tiller
ropes. But it was all to no purpose. A shell from the _Blanco_, fired
by Jim's own hand, exploded immediately afterwards in her stern, killing
every man at the relieving-tackles, and causing the now almost wrecked
ship again to fall out of control.

It was at this moment that a shell from the _Cochrane_ exploded right
inside the _Huascar's_ conning-tower, and blew the gallant Peruvian
admiral and one of his lieutenants to pieces. It was clear that the
Peruvians were beaten, yet several brave spirits strove desperately to
regain the control of their ship, and, if it might be, break away to the
northward and get clear.