"And every time they fired over us," went on the lieutenant, "and we fired into them; and the only damage they did us was their muskets in the tops. They killed Tom Dane like that"--there was a swift hiss of breath from the room; but the officer went straight on--"shot him through the back as he bent over his gun; and wounded old Harry and a score more; but all the while, lads, we were a-pounding at them with the broadsides as we came round, and raking them with the demi-cannon in the poop, until--well; go you and see the craft as she lies at the quay if you would know what we did. I tell you, as we came at her once towards the end, I saw that she was bleeding through her scuppers like a pig, from the middle deck. They were all packed up there together--sailors and soldiers and a priest or two; and scarce a ball could pass between the poop and the forecastle without touching flesh." The lad stopped a moment and took a pull at his cup, and a murmur of talk broke out in the room. Anthony was surprised at his accent and manner of speaking, and heard afterwards that he was the son of the parson at one of the inland villages, and had had an education. In a moment he went on. "Well--it would be about noon, just before the Admiral came up from Calais, that the old _Seahorse_ was lost. We came at the dons again as we had done before, only closer than ever; and just as the captain gave the word to put her about, a ball from one of their guns which they had trained down on us, cut old Dick Kemp in half at the helm, and broke the tiller to splinters." "Old Dick?" said a man's voice out of the reeking crowd, "Old Dick?" There was a murmur round him, bidding him hold his tongue; and the lad went on.