But if the captain of the pirate ship could not get away, he showed that
he was very well able to fight, and although the two vessels which had
made him the object of their attack were pouring cannon balls and musket
shot upon him, he blazed away with his cannon and his muskets. The three
vessels were so near each other that sometimes their yard-arms almost
touched, so that this terrible fight seemed almost like a hand-to-hand
conflict. For four hours the roaring of the cannon, the crushing of
timbers, the almost continuous discharge of musketry were kept up, while
the smoke of the battle frequently almost prevented the crews of the
contending ships from seeing each other. Not so very far away the people
of Charles Town, who were standing on the shores of their beautiful
harbor, could see the fierce fight which was going on, and great was the
excitement and anxiety throughout the city.
But the time came when two ships grew too much for one, and as the
_Royal James_ and the _Sea-Nymph_ were able to take positions by which
they could rake the deck of the pirate vessel, many of her men gave up
the fight and rushed down into the hold to save their lives. Then both
the Charles Town vessels bore down upon the pirate and boarded her, and
now there was another savage battle with pistols and cutlasses.
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