Creative Books

The boats steamed in closer and closer, pouring an incessant fire from
their heavy guns, and both rings of batteries on the cliffs responded.
The water of the river spouted up in innumerable little geysers and now
and then a boat was struck. Over both cliffs and river a great cloud of
smoke lowered. It grew so dense that Dick and his comrades, watching
with eagerness, were unable to tell much of what was happening.
Yet as the smoke lifted or was shot through with the blaze of cannon fire
they saw that their prophecies were coming true. The boats in water too
deep for anchorage were caught in the powerful eddies and their captains
had to show their best seamanship while they steamed back and forth.
The battle between ship and shore went on for a long time. It seemed at
last to the watching Union soldiers that the fire from the lower line of
batteries was diminishing.
"We're making some way," said Warner.
"It looks like it," said Dick. "Their lower batteries are not so well
protected as the upper."
"If we were only over there, helping with our own guns.


Pages:
81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105