he commander of the expedition
waved his cap, when Jack, who had charge of the flagstaff, leapt boldly
up on the bank and planted it in the ground. The ensign flew out to the
breeze: it was the signal for the first discharge of rockets. Up,
hissing loudly, they flew, while Jack, taking off his cap, made a polite
bow to the enemy, and quickly leapt off the bank under shelter. The
rockets curving over the heads of the ships, two of them pitched into
the very centre of the most crowded part of the batteries, completely
driving the gunners from their guns, two went over their heads, and two
stuck in the cliffs beneath them. The elevation of the rocket-stands
which had been wrongly pointed being quickly rectified, they were once
more charged, and as soon as the enemy had returned to their guns and
were looking along the sights to take aim at the steamers, Lieutenant
Mackinnon jumped up on the embankment, thoughtless of how he was
exposing himself, and sung out--

"Pepper, lads! pepper! pepper pepper!"

Up flew the rockets with admirable aim, scattering destruction among the
men thickly crowded in the batteries.

Those who were not killed deserted their guns. The slaughter among the
troops of Rosas must have been terrific. In one minute forty rockets
were poured in among them. A still louder sound was then heard, and
smoke and flames were seen ascending from the batteries, a rocket had
penetrated an ammunition cart, which had blown up, increasing the
confusion. All this time the fleet of merchantmen had been gradually
approaching. The men-of-war having already passed, had taken up a
position from which they could throw their shells into the batteries; so
what with the shells from the ships' guns, and the flights of rockets,
the gunners, even though driven back again and again to their guns, were
unable to take aim at the ships. While the batteries were shrouded by
the smoke from the ammunition waggon, the grass under the bank catching
fire, the rocket party were surrounded by so dense an atmosphere that it
was impossible for some moments to see what was going forward. The
wind, however, soon blew the murky veil aside, when the white sails of
the merchantmen, the sun shining brightly on them, were seen gliding by,
flights of rockets being sent up the whole time in rapid succession,
till the sternmost ship of the squadron was well out of range of the
batteries.

The enemy now directed their fire at the island, ai