dangerous thing for an enemy to let happen.
17 Time after time he out-maneuvered them, drawing them into positions
where his people cut them to pieces, but at times the enemy reached
them, and the combat was vicious...bayonet to bayonet with neither side
showing any pity.
18 As his weary fighting people marched back to their ships, they had
to stop at the harbor to wash. As they were loading their ships under
cover of darkness, the enemy's fleet returned, attacking from north and
south, they engaged both iron clads.
19 Suddenly, a large ship bore down on The Iron Turtle. Though they hit
her with her side batteries twice, she kept corning. The enemy had clad
her bow
with iron. She hit The Iron Turtle hard, ripping a hole in her side,
and bursting her boiler, the steel teeth of her ram biting deep.
20 A pipe was pushed through one of the teeth, and they pumped oil into
The Iron Turtle and lit it. There was nothing her crew could do. She
was taking water and burning, dragging the enemy ship down with her.
All they could do was abandon her.
21 As boats came for the other ship to help them on, Little Turtle
watched with tears as his pride and joy slowly slipped beneath the
waves. The Bold Fox was attacked in the same manner, but she managed at
the last moment, to turn away, and her gunners broadsided the enemy
vessel when it was right up against them. It sank so fast, only a
handful of its crew managed to escape.
22 Minus their greatest warship, the fleet sailed home. "They're
getting better!" Little Turtle warned. "You've got to give them that!
They keep trying! I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere they're building
steamers and cladding THEM with iron! I'd sure like to know where!"
23 "SO would I!" agreed Bold Fox. "But what I would like to know, more,
is where Leaping Deer is, and how he's