course parallel with the shore, 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 passed out of the line of fire the _Huascar_ opened with one
of her turret 300-pounder guns. The first shell passed 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 shell 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 shell 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
shells 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 shell 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 shell 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_ shells 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 shell, 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 shell 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 shell 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 scrape 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 shell 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!" ejaculated 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 glass, 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 God 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 shells, 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 shell 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 shells burst aboard her. As the _Chacabuco_
passed she made the signal "Proceed forthwith to Valparaiso, and report
that I am chasing to the northward. Good luck and congratulations."
The two ships swept rapidly away in chase of the Peruvian, and the
_Covadonga_, obeying orders and resuming her voyage, made the best of
her way to Valparaiso, which she reached the following evening, dropping
her anchor in the middle of the assembled Chilian fleet, to the
accompaniment of rousing cheers for her gallant conduct at Iquique Bay
and Punto Gruesos.
Jim then bade good-bye to Captain Condell and returned to his own ship,
the _Blanco Encalada_, where he was most enthusiastically received by
all his friends, an especially warm welcome being extended to him by his
chum Terry O'Meara.
CHAPTER EIGHT.
MINE AND COUNTERMINE.
Jim found, upon rejoining the _Blanco Encalada_, that there was great
excitement prevailing aboard that ship; for the fleet had received
orders to sail, that very day, for the port of Arica, and the squadron
was only waiting for Commodore Riveros, who had superseded Rebolledo
Williams, to come aboard to start.
There were numerous rumours flying about the _Blanco_ as to the object
of the cruise northward; but the one which obtained most credence was to
the effect that the Chilian fleet had been instructed to find and
destroy the _Huascar, Union_, and _Pilcomayo_, which were waging a
destructive war against the Chilian commerce, and which, it was very
strongly suspected, had been guilty of certain acts against Chilian and
other craft which more nearly resembled piracy than civilised warfare.
So much damage, indeed, had been wrought by them that the Chilian
Government had decided to hunt down the obnoxious craft; and for this
purpose there were now assembled in Valparaiso harbour the _Almirante
Cochrane_ and _Blanco Encalada_, both battleships, the corvette
_O'Higgins_, and the armed merchant-steamers _Loa_ and _Mathias
Cousino_. The little gunboat _Covadonga_ had also been intended to sail
with the squadron, but, as has been seen, she had been too badly damaged
in her gallant fight with the Peruvian vessels to permit of her doing
so.
Mid-day came, but it brought no sign of the commodore; and it was three
o'clock in the afternoon before his launch was seen to steam away from
the naval steps at the jetty. The side was then piped, and Riveros came
on board, to the accompaniment of the flagship's band and a crashing
salute from the other vessels in the harbour. Upon his arrival on board
he immediately went below to his cabin and sent for his captain, with
whom he was in close conference for about an hour. Apparently he
informed him as to the plan of campaign, for soon after Captain Castello
came on deck it became known, all over the ship, that a telegram had
been received from a Chilian spy in Arica to the effect that the
_Huascar_ and the _Union_ were to call in at that port in about three
days' time, and that they would be detained there for about a week in
order to effect certain repairs. Therefore, should the Chilians sail
immediately, suggested the telegram, they would be almost certain to
catch their prey without difficulty. It was also within the bounds of
possibility that the _Pilcomayo_ and _Manco Capac_ might likewise be
there; and in that case, since the opposing forces would be pretty
evenly matched, there was every prospect of a general engagement being
fought, a prospect which aroused the keenest enthusiasm of every man in
the fleet, and more especially that of such young hot-bloods as Jim and
his friend O'Meara, to say nothing of Lieutenant Montt, who was being
transferred, to his great gratification, from the _Covadonga_ to the
_Blanco Encalada_.
A few minutes after Captain Castello had come on deck the bugles
shrilled out, "Clear lower deck. Hands up anchor!" and the seamen came
tumbling up from below, happy and eager as a parcel of schoolboys off
for a holiday. A string of signal-flags soared aloft to the _Blanco's_
mainyard-arm, and half an hour later her screw began to revolve as she
led the way out of the harbour, with the other ships following, in
column of line ahead.
It was five o'clock in the afternoon of October 1, 1879, and the cruise
had begun which was to prove so eventful for at least two of the ships
comprising the squadron. As they passed out to sea with ever-increasing
speed the forts on either side of the bay fired a farewell salute; and
the spectacle of the sun sinking over Monte Bajo and the Centinela Alto,
coupled with the lurid flashes of flame and clouds of white smoke from
Forts San Antonio, Bueras, Valdivia, and the Citadel, constituted a
picture the grandeur of which Jim never forgot.
A very careful look-out was maintained during the progress of the fleet
up the coast, and Commodore Riveros took the precaution to look into
Chaneral Bay, Cobija, and Iquique, to make quite sure that the
Peruvians--who might possibly have got wind of the expedition--should
have no chance of escaping by lying hidden until the Chilians were past,
and then making a sudden dash southward upon the comparatively
defenceless ports of the lower coast.
There was, however, no sign of the enemy anywhere in any of these
places, and all the news that Riveros was able to pick up tended to
confirm the telegram which he had received at Valparaiso, to the effect
that the Peruvians would certainly be found at Arica. Having,
therefore, made certain that they had left no enemy in their rear, the
Chilians steamed away from Iquique on the 3rd of October, and arrived at
a point ten miles to the south of Arica at three o'clock the next
morning, where the fleet hove to, in order to allow of a council of war
being held by the commodore and captains in the cabin of the _Blanco
Encalada_.
The captains of the _Cochrane_ and the _O'Higgins_ were in favour of an
attack by the whole squadron upon the Peruvian fleet supposed to be
lying in the harbour, but the commodore, with the captains of the _Loa_
and _Mathias Cousino_, opposed that plan, on the grounds that the
harbour was very strongly defended by forts; consequently, if such an
attack were carried out the Chilians would be obliged to silence the
batteries before they could turn their attention to the Peruvian
ironclads. The scheme favoured by Riveros, and which was ultimately
carried out, was to send in a number of steam-launches from the ships,
each armed with a couple of spar-torpedoes, and try to blow up the
Peruvian ships. The commodore's argument was that they would almost
certainly be successful, if the attack were properly made; while, if it
were to fail, the Peruvians would be certain to come out of port in
pursuit of the torpedo-boats, and find themselves face to face with the
Chilian fleet, and beyond the protection of the shore batteries.
This having been decided upon, the captains returned to their ships, and
the squadron once more headed northward, at a speed of about five knots,
finally coming to an anchor some four miles away from Arica, but
completely hidden from it by the headland of Santa Catharina, which
forms the southern extremity of the bay. The steam-launches of the
_Almirante Cochrane_ and the _Blanco Encalada_ were then lowered into
the water, together with a small Hereschoff torpedo-boat which the
_O'Higgins_ had brought up on her deck. These little craft all
rendezvoused at the flagship, and spar-torpedoes were hastily fitted to
all three, one projecting from the bow of each boat. As the expedition
was likely to be an extremely hazardous one, Commodore Riveros decided
to call for volunteers to man the torpedo-boats; and Jim Douglas and
Jorge Montt were the first two officers who presented themselves for the
service, while Terry O'Meara asked to be allowed to accompany his chum,
should the latter be accepted, to take charge of the engines of the boat
in which Jim was to go.
At length the commodore decided to send Jim in charge of the _Blanco's_
torpedo-boat, with Terry O'Meara in charge of the engines. Montt was to
take command of the _Cochrane's_ launch; and a man named Juarez was
given the command of the Hereschoff torpedo-boat, which was a craft of
about sixteen tons displacement. Jim, as being second lieutenant of the
flagship, was given the command of the little squadron; and, after half
an hour's interview with the commodore, during which he received the
most minute instructions as to how he was to proceed, he went over the
_Blanco Encalada's_ side into her steam-launch, and gave the signal to
start.
There was no cheering at their departure, for all those who were left
behind felt that they might never see their comrades again; moreover, it
was necessary to maintain the strictest silence, since, the night being
very still, sounds would carry to an immense distance over the water.
If suspicion were once aroused on shore, it would mean the absolute
annihilation of the brave fellows who had started on their desperate
errand. The fleet, of course, showed no lights, and neither did the
three torpedo--boats; consequently, within a minute after the latter had
started the darkness swallowed them up completely, and there was no
telling whereabout they were, or what progress they were making.