Page:Under Dewey at Manila.djvu/299

Rh Captain Gridley was ordered to train the guns of the Olympia upon this craft, and the gunners went at it with a will, each vying with the others in making the best shot. The gun our friends were at hit the torpedo boat on the stern, disabling her steering gear, and two other shots sent her scurrying for land. When close to shore a final shot fairly lifted her out of the water and cast her on the sands, a total wreck.

By the time the Olympia was coming along on her third course before the line of the enemy, it was found that the new flagship, the Reina Cristina, was again in flames, while the other ships were suffering more or less in the same way. The new flagship fought desperately, and two shots whizzed through the Olympia's upper rigging again, while a third fairly clipped the American flagship's stern. But the Reina Cristina could not hold out, and retired in a thick cloud of smoke, burning fiercely.

In the mean time, however, the Don Antonio de Ulloa came to the front with a heavy fire, directed principally at the Olympia and the Baltimore. Her captain, E. Robino, was known to be one of the greatest fighters in the Spanish navy, and he kept his guns at it so long as it was possible for him to do so.

"He is hot as pepper," said Striker, as they drew