Page:The Wreck of a World - Grove - 1890.djvu/98

82 which it was aimed. Unfortunately we had but four of these heavy guns on board the America. and only two on the Hope and the Roanoke, and having been once fired they remained useless after, for without the proper hydraulic machinery it would have taken long, longer than the conflict lasted, to get them re-loaded.

But though we had destroyed ten of the foe we were not yet out of the wood. An evil looking craft of great size, and no river-boat this time but an ironclad, the skin of which our smaller shot was unable to pierce, came alongside us and manœuvring so as to avoid being rammed, suddenly dropped an immense arm of steel on our foremast. What was the meaning of this manœuvre? I soon discovered. Rapidly hauling in the arm which had clutched the mast with immense force, she proceeded to pull us over on our beam ends, until our ports were all but under water. At a word from me, two sailors rushed up the shrouds to disengage us. But their axes were useless against the steel bars, and had it not been for the presence of mind of the boatswain who cut the topmast stays we must have been sunk. But as soon as these were gone the mast snapped with a report like a cannon