“That’s Mr. Spence, sorr,” said Moriarity, pointing to the little midshipman.
The gun roared out, and the shot struck the muzzle of a gun in the battery of Fort English, breaking it into a hundred pieces. The bow of the boat was beginning to sink, but, before thinking of saving themselves, the men, led by the midshipman, gave three hearty American cheers. Then Decatur’s boat approaching, they leaped into the water, and were hauled on board.
“Hurrah!” shouted Somers, standing up and waving his cap at Decatur, who was doing the same thing at him.
Hardly were the words out of his mouth, when he suddenly felt himself seized around the waist by Moriarity’s strong arms and thrown down on the deck. The next moment a shot struck the flagstaff against which Somers had been leaning and cut it off short at the very spot where but a moment before his head had been.
“Beg your parding, sorr,” said Moriarity, as the two scrambled to their feet, “but I seen her comin’, and ’twarn’t no time for to be axin’ what the regulations is ’bout gittin’ a orficer’s head out o’ the way when a shot is a-comin’ straight for it, sorr.”
“No apologies are necessary,” cried Somers, shaking Moriarity’s hand, “for saving a man’s life as you did mine.”
The attack was so spirited, and so much damage was done, that on the next day came an offer from the Bashaw to surrender the officers and crew of the Philadelphia for five hundred dollars each.
“Tell your master,” said Commodore Preble to the envoy, “that I will yet have every officer and man belonging to the Philadelphia, but without paying one dollar of ransom for them.”
This was supplemented by a night attack on the 18th of August, which Somers and Decatur both urged upon the commodore. But finding that it was more risky and not so effective as the day attacks, Commodore Preble told his two young captains that thereafter the attacks would be by daylight.
The Tripolitans now began to be very much alarmed, and made several offers to treat; but Commodore Preble would listen to nothing but the unconditional surrender of the officers and crew of the Philadelphia.
On the 24th and 28th of August two more attacks were made, which as usual were led by Somers and Decatur. After every attack came renewed offers from the Bashaw; but Commodore Preble meant to destroy, at once and forever, the power of this barbarous nation of pirates and corsairs.