HONOURABLE SCARS


During the time that the greater part of the crew of the _Henrietta_
had been occupied with the fire-ship, the enemy had redoubled their
efforts, and as the sailors returned to their guns, the mizzen-mast
fell with a crash. A minute later, a Dutch man-of-war ran alongside,
fired a broadside, and grappled. Then her crew, springing over the
bulwarks, poured on to the deck of the _Henrietta_. They were met
boldly by the soldiers, who had hitherto borne no part in the fight,
and who, enraged at the loss they had been compelled to suffer, fell
upon the enemy with fury. For a moment, however, the weight of
numbers of the Dutchmen bore them back, but the sailors, who had at
first been taken by surprise, snatched up their boarding pikes and
axes.

Prince Rupert, with the other officers and Volunteers, dashed into
the thick of the fray, and, step by step, the Dutchmen were driven
back, until they suddenly gave way and rushed back to their own ship.
The English would have followed them, but the Dutch who remained on
board their ship, seeing that the fight was going against their
friends, cut the ropes of the grapnels, and the ships drifted apart,
some of the last to leave the deck of the _Henrietta_ being forced
to jump into the sea. The cannonade was at once renewed on both
sides, but the Dutch had had enough of it--having lost very heavily
in men--and drew off from the action.

Cyril had joined in the fray. He had risen to his feet and drawn his
sword, but he found himself strangely weak. His hands were blistered
and swollen, his face was already so puffed that he could scarce see