"No," cried Jones, "I haven't begun to fight yet."
The next instant the roar and rattle of the musketry crashed forth
again. Both ships were now on fire, and a great hole smashed in
the side of the Bonhomme.
"For God's sake, strike, Captain," said one of his officers.
Jones looked at him silently for a minute. The he answered: "No,"
he cried, "I will sink. I will never strike."
The ships were now side by side, and Jones gave orders to lash
the Bonhomme Richard to the Serapis. He seized a rope himself and
helped to do it. The carpenter beside him, finding the lines tangled
rapped out a sailor's oath.
But Jones was calm as if nothing was happening.
"Don't swear, Mr. Stacy," he said. "We may soon all be in eternity.
Let us do our duty."
Lashed together now the two ships swung on the waves in a death
grapple. The guns on the Bonhomme Richard were nearly all silenced.
But a sailor climbed out on to the yards, and began to throw hand
grenades into the Serapis. He threw one right into the hold, where
it fell upon a heap of cartridges and exploded, killing about twenty
men. That ended the battle. With his ship sinking and aflame, and
the dead lying thick about him, the British captain struck his
flag, and the Americans boarded the Serapis and took possession.
In silence and bitterness of heart Captain Pearson bowed and handed
his sword to Jones.
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