Under the Chilian Flag Part 6

CHAPTER SEVEN.

A NIGHT-ATTACK.

The day following the joint adventure of Douglas and Montt in Antof.a.gasta a telegram arrived for the skipper of the _Covadonga_, ordering him to leave the place immediately, and rejoin the flag at Valparaiso without delay. All sh.o.r.e leave was accordingly stopped, and that same evening the gunboat raised her anchor and steamed out of Chimba Bay, on her way to the headquarters port. The telegram had also contained a warning that the Peruvian warships _Huascar_ and _Union_ were prowling up and down the coast, and, as each one separately was a good deal more than a match for the little _Covadonga_, it behoved her captain to keep a very sharp look-out for any sign of the enemy, especially as the gunboat was not fast enough to enable her to rely upon her speed for safety.

Men were, consequently, posted at the mastheads, with orders to report directly any sign of a strange ship was seen, and the ship slid slowly along under the stars, keeping as close in to the land as possible. As soon as his watch was at an end that night, Douglas, feeling rather tired after his experience of the previous evening, went down below and turned into his bunk; and it was not very long before he was in the land of dreams.

It seemed to him that he had only just fallen asleep when he was rudely awakened by a commotion up on deck. He lay half awake in his bunk for a minute or two, and heard men running about overhead, the sound of excited voices shouting, and then, loud and clear above the uproar, rang out Carlos Condell's voice giving orders for the men to be called to quarters and the guns to be cast loose. Evidently, thought Jim, there was more fighting in the wind. He quickly tumbled into his clothes, slung his uniform ulster over his shoulders, for the night was cold, and stumbled up on deck, every pulse in him throbbing with excitement at the antic.i.p.ation of another encounter with the enemy.

As he dashed up through the hatchway he cannoned into, and almost knocked down, his friend Montt, who was rushing forward with orders from the skipper.

"Hallo, Montt!" Jim e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed, "what's the matter this time?"

"Two steamers have just been sighted coming out of Chaneral Bay, and heading this way," returned the Chilian, breathlessly. "They are believed to be the _Huascar_ and the corvette _Union_, and it looks as though they had been up to some mischief in there, for there is a big glare away to the south-east--there, you can see it for yourself!--which seems to point to their having set something on fire. But you mustn't keep me now, my friend, for it is 'all hands to quarters and prepare for action'; and, if it should prove to be as we believe, we shall have a tough fight to get clear of these two fellows." And the gallant first lieutenant bustled away to carry out his orders.

Looking in the direction indicated by Montt, Jim could plainly see the dull, lurid glare of a large fire away to the south-east; and, outlined sharply against the glow, he could also make out, even from the level of the deck, a brig-rigged steamer, which could be none other than the Peruvian monitor; and she was accompanied by a large, three-masted, ship-rigged steamer which was undoubtedly the corvette _Union_. Whether the enemy had yet sighted the _Covadonga_ was still doubtful, for the gunboat was close in under the high cliffs which formed the coastline at that point, and they would hardly be on the look-out for a vessel so near in to the land. But when they got nearer to her they could hardly help sighting her; and her only hope of ultimate escape was to avoid detection, if possible, until she was nearly abreast of the Peruvians, and then to make a running fight of it, trusting more to her heels than to her fighting powers to enable her to get away.

But the _Covadonga_ could scarcely hope to avoid a fight of some sort; and her gallant skipper, Condell, was not at all the sort of man to wish to do so. He would at any time much rather stay and fight than run, even though hopelessly outmatched; but orders were orders, and he was wanted at Valparaiso, so for once he was forced to acknowledge discretion as the better part of valour.

At this moment, the "word" having been quietly pa.s.sed, the men came tumbling up on deck, and Jim was obliged to abandon his survey of the Peruvians and attend to his duty of getting his own particular battery of guns ready for the coming encounter. In about ten minutes everything was prepared, and Montt, the first lieutenant, marched into the tiny conning-tower and reported to Condell, "Ship cleared for action, sir."

Jim was then free, for a short time at any rate, to turn his attention once more to the swiftly approaching steamers, which were travelling so fast as to give the impression that they feared pursuit.

"If," mused Jim, "the _Almirante Cochrane_ or some other of our ships are really after these fellows it will probably mean the saving of us, for the _Huascar_ and the _Union_ will in that case hardly dare to remain and fight against us.

"Ah!--" he continued, as he saw a rocket stream up into the air from the _Huascar_, "they have sighted us, that is clear, and we shall have to fight after all. Yes; here they come! They are both altering their course now, and heading directly for us. I was afraid we should not escape detection."

The Peruvians, which had been heading off the land, had now turned slightly, and were pointing about north-north-west, directly for the spot where the _Covadonga_ was creeping along under the land, and Jim could see the dull red glare above their funnels which showed that the stokers were coaling up vigorously.

Condell now shouted down the voice-tube to the engine-room, ordering the staff to let him have as much steam as the boilers would carry, and rang for full speed at the same time. The little gunboat began to quiver from stem to stern, from truck to keel, under the increased pulsations of the throbbing screw, while the curl of white water at her bows gradually crept higher and still higher up her stem as her speed increased, until she swept along at her best pace of about nine knots in the hour.

As she ran down the coast the _Huascar_ and the _Union_ both pointed their bows more and more sh.o.r.eward, as if to cut off the gunboat; and it began to look very much as though there was no hope for the _Covadonga_, when suddenly another rocket, blue this time, soared up from the monitor, and she described a wide circle seaward once more, her consort following her example. Jim immediately guessed that Admiral Grau had, like a prudent man, had a leadsman at work on board his ship, and that the Peruvian skipper had suddenly found himself in danger of running aground through standing so close insh.o.r.e.

The two hostile warships then eased down to half-speed, and kept on a course parallel with the sh.o.r.e, and at a distance of about a mile away from it. As the _Covadonga_ herself was obliged, by reason of shoals and sunken reefs, to keep at a distance of quite half a mile from the beach, this left her an avenue of escape just about half a mile in width. But although the _Huascar_ and the _Union_ could not approach closer than eight or nine hundred yards from the gunboat, she would still have to run the gauntlet of their fire, and they could easily destroy her, by gun-fire alone, at six times that distance. There did not appear to be very much hope for the _Covadonga_, thought Jim, unless she could somehow manage to disable her antagonists--a very unlikely contingency, owing to the smallness of her guns, or unless a Chilian ship should happen to be in the neighbourhood and be attracted to the spot by the sound of the firing which was bound to open in a few minutes.

When the _Covadonga_ had approached to within about a mile of the Peruvian ironclads, Jim saw the _Huascar_ go about and heave-to, with her bows pointing to the south, while the _Union_ came foaming along on her original course, which was parallel to that of the gunboat, and about half a mile distant from it to seaward.

"Aha!" thought he to himself, "so that is the manoeuvre, is it? Grau is going to get us between two fires if he can. As soon as the corvette is past us she too will swing round and attack us with her bow-guns while the _Huascar_ rakes us with her stern weapons. It looks as though the _Covadonga_ were in for a hot time!"

The young Englishman's surmise soon proved correct; for directly the _Union_ had pa.s.sed out of the line of fire the _Huascar_ opened with one of her turret 300-pounder guns. The first sh.e.l.l pa.s.sed close ahead of the gunboat, but it was aimed much too high, and struck the cliffs on the _Covadonga's_ port beam, exploding with a brilliant flash of light and a roaring concussion that sent ton after ton of rock hurtling down into the sea. The corvette was now abreast of the Chilian ship, and as she drew level she let fly her whole broadside, consisting of one 100- pounder, one 70-pounder, and six 40-pounders, at the devoted gunboat.

The effect was as though a hurricane of fire and steel had broken loose aboard the _Covadonga_. Three of her smaller machine-guns, together with their crews, were blown to atoms, while her bulwarks were levelled with the decks in several places. The execution on board was terrible; and Jim had an exceedingly narrow escape, for at the moment when the _Union_ fired he was just entering the little conning-tower with a communication for Captain Condell, and a 100-pounder sh.e.l.l struck full upon one of the _Covadonga's_ 70-pounder gun-shields, tearing a portion of it away. It then burst into a thousand fragments, one of which whizzed past Jim's head and struck the conning-tower beside him with such force that the piece of metal weighing several pounds was firmly embedded in the soft steel of which the tower was constructed, while Jim was dazed with the shock and half blinded by the flying iron dust and grains of powder.

He managed to stagger inside the citadel just as the _Huascar_ let fly with one of her 40-pounder guns, the sh.e.l.l from which struck full upon the very spot on the deck where he had been standing ten seconds previously, ripping a huge hole in the iron sheathing with which it was covered, and then exploding right over the engine-room hatch, which luckily was protected by a bomb-proof grating.

When Jim had at length cleared his eyes of dust and powder he delivered his message to the captain and was about to leave, but Condell requested him to remain, saying that he might want to make use of him. Montt was in the conning-tower, carrying out Condell's orders as to the working of the engines, while the skipper himself watched carefully through the narrow observation-slit in the citadel, waiting for the moment when he might begin to open an effectual fire upon the enemy.

At length the moment arrived. The _Covadonga_ had come up level with the Peruvian monitor, and the _Union_, being obliged to circle to seaward as she found herself in shoal water, was about three-quarters of a mile astern, although still firing incessantly. Condell gave one last look round and then shouted "_Fire_!" through the voice-tube which led to the gunboat's little turret. Immediately there came a deafening roar and a tremendous concussion, as the two 70-pounders hurled forth their sh.e.l.ls at the _Huascar_, and a dense cloud of white smoke drifted down upon the conning-tower, filling it with acrid fumes and momentarily blotting out the view.

When it cleared away it was seen that it had been a most lucky discharge, for one sh.e.l.l had struck full upon the monitor's military mast, causing it to fall lengthwise along the ship, partly wrecking the funnel and a number of ventilators, while the other had apparently penetrated an open gun-port and thus reached some part of the ship's boiler-room, for columns of steam were seen issuing from every available opening on the monitor's midship section.

"Load again, men; load again!" cried Douglas, quite forgetting himself in the excitement of the moment.

"Another discharge like that, and we shall have the fellow completely crippled. Hurrah for the gallant little _Covadonga_!"

He was recalled to his senses by a short, sharp laugh from Condell, who remarked, with a grim smile: "Surely, Senor Douglas, you are not going to take away the command of my ship from me, are you?"

Jim, of course, promptly apologised, explaining that it was owing to the excitement that he had forgotten himself, but Condell told him to think no more of it, as it was the sort of spirit that he liked to see a young man display. There was little time for conversation, however, for the _Huascar_, as though in revenge for the damage inflicted by her puny enemy, again discharged her whole broadside--or at least so much of it as was still capable of being fired; and the marksmanship was so excellent that every missile again struck the _Covadonga_, while at the same moment the _Union_ again started firing with her bow-guns, and a 100-pounder sh.e.l.l struck the gunboat full upon the stern, blowing a huge hole in it, killing four men, and shooting away the ensign-staff and flag.

When the smoke cleared away Douglas saw that their flag was gone, and at the same time heard the sound of cheering coming across the water from the _Huascar_--the Peruvians were under the impression that the gunboat had struck! But they were soon to be undeceived, for Jim rushed out of the conning-tower and down below, presently reappearing with another ensign under his arm. He then ran aft and proceeded to fix the spare staff, under a perfect hail of rifle-bullets from the monitor and corvette, and, having done so, ran up the flag amid cheers from the _Covadonga_. Then he went forward once more to his place in the conning-tower, which he reached just as Condell gave orders for the battery of 70-pounders to be fired again.

"Bravely done, gallantly done, my young friend," said the skipper, as Jim made his appearance; "I won't forget that action of yours if we come through all right."

Both of the _Covadonga's_ sh.e.l.ls at this moment burst on board the monitor, one of them blowing her short squat funnel clean over the side, while the other, by one of the strange happenings of war, entered her hull through the same gun-port as the previous sh.e.l.l, working still further havoc in the _Huascar's_ engine-room.

The gunboat had by this time drawn considerably ahead of the monitor, and Condell soon saw that the latter was too seriously crippled in her engines to pursue. Yet she still continued firing with deadly effect, and the _Union_ was slowly but surely creeping up astern. The skipper therefore ordered his men to turn their whole attention to the corvette and try to disable her also, since they would soon be beyond the range of the _Huascar's_ guns. Every weapon was thereupon trained astern, and the accuracy of the little gunboat's fire was soon apparent, for on board the corvette one of the forward 100-pounders was dismounted and silenced, several Nordenfeldts were damaged and put out of action, and a luckily placed solid shot struck the _Union's_ foremast full upon the cap, wrecking it and bringing the upper spars down, with disastrous effect to the men on deck below.

Indeed it began to look as though the plucky little ship would escape after all, for she was now beyond range of all but the _Huascar's_ heaviest guns, while the _Union_ had been obliged to slacken speed considerably in order to enable her to get her wreckage cleared away.

But Condell surmised that the Peruvians must have shrewdly guessed at his destination, and he knew that they would not give up the chase so long as there was a chance of getting him again under their guns.

Moreover, he had still nearly three hundred and fifty miles to go before he could reach safety,--more than a day and a half's steaming!

The _Covadonga_ very soon ran the _Huascar_ hull-down, and had left the corvette about five miles astern before the latter got the wreckage of her foremast cleared away and resumed her pursuit at full speed; but Condell had improved the shining hour by putting his own little ship to rights, and getting up more powder and sh.e.l.l in readiness for the renewed attack which he knew must come.

Day had just begun to dawn when the _Union_ again opened fire, and her first sh.e.l.l unluckily cut the tiller-chains on board the gunboat, so that the _Covadonga_ very nearly ran up on the beach before the chain could be repaired and the ship again got under control; indeed, Jim distinctly felt her keel sc.r.a.pe as she ran over a shoal which stretched out about half a mile into the sea. By the greatest good fortune, however, she got clear, and again resumed her attempt at escape. But the Peruvian ship had by this time lessened her distance to about two miles, and was firing so accurately that nearly every shot came aboard Condell's little ship, which, however, still continued to reply pluckily, and with such precision that she did a considerable amount of damage to the _Union_.

Then suddenly it seemed as though the end had come, for a particularly well-aimed sh.e.l.l came hurtling into the _Covadonga_, close to her rudder-post, almost entirely destroying the rudder, and smashing one of the blades clean off the propeller. As a consequence, her speed immediately dropped to about five knots, and Condell ground his teeth with rage. If they could but have held out a little longer all might have been well, and he might have escaped into one of the shallow bays abounding on the coast where there was too little water for his heavily armed enemy to follow. He felt that it was cruelly hard. But the brave skipper was not yet beaten; far from it. He was determined to fight to the bitter end and, if need be, go down with his colours flying and guns firing, as did his friend and brother officer, Arturo Prat, on board the _Huascar_ at the battle of Iquique Bay, in which he, Condell, also took part. Surrender? No; perish the thought!

"Two columns of smoke approaching from the southwest, sir," suddenly reported Douglas, who had been attentively gazing southward through the slit in the conning-tower, "and we are raising them so fast that they must be steaming hard, whoever they may be. Is it possible, I wonder, that they are two of our ships brought up by the firing?"

"Where, Senor Douglas? Allow me to look!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Condell excitedly.

"By all that's wonderful, if you are right it means that we are saved!

Be so good as to bring me my gla.s.s, young man, as quickly as possible.

Every moment is now very precious."

Douglas was back in less than a minute, carrying the telescope, by the aid of which it was presently seen that the approaching steamers were undoubtedly warships; one of them having very much the appearance of the _Magellanes_, while the other, a corvette, might be either the _O'Higgins_ or the _Chacabuco_.

Condell looked long at the approaching ships, and then turned to look at the _Union_. The Peruvian was fast coming up astern, and could not now be more than a mile away. She was still firing remorselessly into the gunboat, and apparently had not noticed the smoke columns.

"Now," shouted Condell to his men, "there is the _Union_, and yonder are two of our ships coming up. We will stand and fight where we are, for we can no longer run; and we must endeavour to disable the Peruvian so effectually that she will fall an easy prey to the Chilian ships. When once we get to close grips we must keep her so busy that she will not have time to look round her until our friends are close aboard, when we will hand her over to their tender mercies! To quarters again, my brave hearts, and may G.o.d defend the right!"

A rousing cheer answered his words, and the men returned to their guns full of hope and with renewed energy. They opened such a furious fire upon the Peruvian that she fairly reeled under the impact of that storm of missiles. But she nevertheless came on, unchecked, and a few minutes later ranged up, broadside on to the _Covadonga_, at a distance of about seven hundred yards, when the action at once became close and fierce.

In less than a minute the Chilian gunboat had her mizzen-mast shot away close to the deck, her funnel riddled by machine-gun bullets, and every man not under cover killed. But the survivors sheltered themselves behind the gun-shields, and manfully replied with every weapon still capable of firing. The _Union_ lost her captain and first lieutenant during the first few minutes of the renewed encounter, her mainmast came down by the board, having been struck, fair and square, by one of the _Covadonga's_ 70-pounder sh.e.l.ls, and all her small boats were in a few minutes utterly destroyed by the storm of shot from the gunboat's gatling-guns.

Then, suddenly, the _Covadonga_ observed a wild commotion on board the _Union_, and her screw begin to revolve once more, while columns of black smoke pouring out of her shot-torn funnel showed that there was a considerable amount of activity in her engine-room. Then she began to forge ahead and, turning slowly to starboard, headed away to the north.

She had caught sight of the approaching Chilian craft, and meant to effect her escape while the way still lay open to her.

Jim saw a man run aft and dip the Peruvian ensign three times in a mock farewell salute, while the white water began to boil out from under the _Union's_ stern. She was in full retreat, firing with her stern guns as she went. But Condell had no intention of permitting her to escape so easily. His ship would still steer, after a fashion, if she was not driven too hard, and he immediately took up a slow pursuit, hoping against hope that he might still be able to plump a lucky sh.e.l.l into her which should destroy either rudder or propeller, and so leave her at the mercy of the new arrivals, which were rapidly coming up, and which could now be plainly made out as being the _Magellanes_, gunboat, and the _Chacabuco_, corvette.

The Peruvian was going away fast enough, however, to take her soon out of range of the _Covadonga_. But the _Magellanes_ and _Chacabuco_, as they rushed past the gunboat cheering, now began to fire at the flying ship, and several of their sh.e.l.ls burst aboard her. As the _Chacabuco_ pa.s.sed she made the signal "Proceed forthwith to Valparaiso, and report that I am chasing to the northward. Good luck and congratulations."