Page:Works of Jules Verne - Parke - Vol 7.djvu/170

150 was hurled whizzing through the air. It was easy to trace its course in a line of fire.

Then was a moment of anxiety impossible to describe: everyone was silent, and each watched fearfully the arch described by the projectile. Nothing could be done to escape it, and in a few seconds it fell with a frightful noise on the foredeck of the Dolphin.

The terrified sailors crowded to the stern; no one dared move a step. The fuse burned with a brisk crackle.

But one brave man alone among them ran up to the formidable weapon of destruction. It was Crockston; he took the shell in his strong arms, whilst showers of sparks were falling from it; then, with a superhuman effort, he threw it overboard.

Hardly had the shell reached the surface of the water when it burst with a frightful report.

"Hurrah! hurrah!" cried the whole crew unanimously, while Crockston rubbed his burned hands.

Some time later the steamer sped rapidly through the waters of the Atlantic; the American coast disappeared in the darkness, while the distant lights shooting across the horizon indicated that the attack was general between the Northern batteries and the forts of Charleston Harbor.

next day at sunrise the American coast had disappeared; not a ship was visible on the horizon, and the Dolphin, moderating the frightful rapidity of her speed, made quietly towards the Bermudas.

It is useless to recount the passage across the Atlantic, which was marked by no accidents, and ten days after the departure from Queenstown the French coast was hailed.

What passed between the captain and the young girl may be imagined, even by the least observant individuals. How could Mr. Halliburtt acknowledge the devotion and courage of his deliverer, if it was not by making him the happiest of men? James Playfair did not wait for English seas to declare to the father and daughter the sentiments which overflowed his heart, and, if Crockston is to be be-