" At that moment Christy sank
down upon the deck.
CHAPTER XVII
A MAGNANIMOUS ENEMY
It had not occurred to Christy Passford before Captain Rombold mentioned
it that his daring exploit had in any especial manner assisted in the
final and glorious result of the action. He was confident that, if he
had not unmasked the plan of the Confederate commander, Captain Breaker
would have discovered it, and perhaps had already done so when, without
any order, he had impetuously leaped over the rail, followed by a
portion of the second division, urged forward by lieutenant Walbrook,
to capture the gun before it could be discharged.
He realized, as the thought flashed through his brain like a bolt of
lightning, that the Confederate commander's scheme must be counteracted
on the instant, or Captain Breaker might give the command to board, for
which the impatient seamen on his deck were waiting. He had accomplished
his purpose in a few seconds; and the enemy's force, huddled together on
the starboard side, were suddenly piled up in a heap on the planks,
weltering in their gore, and a large proportion of them killed.
Captain Rombold was standing abreast of the stump of his mizzen mast
observing the whole affair, and he had a better opportunity to observe
it than any other person on the deck of either ship. He had ordered up
his men to receive the boarders on the quarter-deck when the gun was
discharged, and before he believed it could be done.
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