d dying men,
and the surgeons down in the cock-pit soon had their tables full of
moaning sufferers. No one could tell what might be the condition of
"La Vengeance;" but her regular fire told that she was in no wise
disabled. At one o'clock in the morning, the sound of her guns seemed
to be more distant; and by the flash of the cannon it was seen that
she was drawing out of the fight. The Americans cheered lustily, and
Truxton ordered that his ship be braced up in chase.

But the fire of the enemy had been rapid and well directed; and now,
at this critical moment, its results were to rob the "Constellation"
of her victory. As the ships were brought about, to follow in the
track of the flying "Vengeance," an officer came rushing to the
quarter-deck, and reported that all the shrouds and braces of the
foremast had been shot away, and the mast was in momentary danger of
falling. The rigging had been so literally cut in pieces by the fire
of the enemy, that splicing was out of the question; but Truxton, in
the hope of saving his mast, called all hands from the guns, and the
fire of the "Constellation" stopped.

Up in the foretop was stationed Midshipman Jarvis, with a dozen or
more of jackies, whose duty it was to mend the cordage of the topmast,
and to keep up a musketry fire upon the enemy. Long before the officer
of the deck had reported the danger of the foremast, one of the topmen
had told Jarvis, who was but a lad, that the mast was likely to fall.

"Ay, ay, my lad," responded the plucky young officer; "but our place
is here, and we must go with it."

The sailors on the deck below worked manfully: but, notwithstanding
all their efforts, the mast soon went by the board; and Jarvis and his
brave comrades were thrown far out into the black water, never to be
seen again.

The fall of the foremast ended the battle for the "Constellation."
Helpless, and cumbered by the wreck, she tossed about on the water
while her foe made good her escape. What might have been the outcome
of the conflict, had it continued, it is impossible to tell. "La
Vengeance" carried heavier metal and a larger crew than the American
frigate; and Truxton, with all his dash, found no mean adversary in
Capt. Pitot. Yet the condition of the French ship when she came into
port at Curacoa showed that the fire of the Yankee gunners had been
rapid and accurate. Fifty of the enemy were killed, and one hundred
and ten wounded; while, of the Americans, only