on us!" cried one of the
Ranger's men.

"Ay, ay. Well, gentlemen, we cannot take possession, so we will have
to leave you to your consort," he said to the British officers. "Give
the captain of the Acasta the compliments of Captain John Paul Jones,
of the American Continental ship Ranger, and say that he will find me
in the British Channel. Thank him for our entertainment to-night," he
said, bowing courteously, and then--"Back to the ship, all you
Rangers.--Let that man's sword alone, sirrah! He used it well, let it
remain with him on his own ship; but first haul down and bring the
Juno's flag with us."

The men hastily scrambled over the rails to their own ship, the
grapnels were cut loose, and none too soon the ship slowly gathered way
and slipped by the stern of the Juno, whose mizzenmast fell a moment
after, and she lay rolling, a ghastly shattered hulk on the waters,
fire breaking out forward.

The frigate, coming down rapidly on the starboard tack, luffed up into
the wind, and fired a broadside at the rapidly disappearing Ranger,
which, however, did no harm, and was only answered by a musket-shot in
contempt, and then she ranged down beside her battered and shattered
consort. As soon as she reached the side of the Juno she was hove to,
and a boat was sent off at once. An officer stepped on board. He was
horrified at the scene of carnage which presented itself. The ship
aloft was a wreck, the decks were a perfect shambles, wounded and dying
men lay around in every position. The masts were gone, the ship was
full of shot-holes, the water was rushing and gurgling in through the
shot-holes below the waterline, flames were breaking out forward.

"Where is Captain Burden?" cried the officer.

"Dead," replied the wounded first lieutenant, in a hollow voice.

"Did you strike?"

"Yes."

"What was the ship with which you fought?"

"The American ship Ranger, Captain John Paul Jones. He says he will
see you in the English Channel. Oh, God, Lawless, isn't this awful?
Three-fourths of ours are dead or wounded! The cursed rebel captured
the Mellish, we ranged alongside at quarters; they got in the first
broadside; the maintopmast went, then the jib; they fell off, raked us
through the stern, boarded; Jones cut down Burden with his sword; we
could not get a gun to bear, they were pounding through us. We could
not keep the men at quarters, we struck; they took our flag too; then
you came down, and he sheer