At this point in the combat Hillyar signalled the _Cherub_, and they both drew off to repair their damages, that were far from slight. Again in a few minutes they came down before the wind, and took a new position athwart the _Essex’s_ bows. To this fire Porter could not bring a single gun to answer. Again the decks of the _Essex_ were red with blood; there had been no time to move the wounded, and the dead lay huddled about in all directions. Now the shots even entered the cockpit, and the men were killed as they lay on the operating-tables under the doctor’s knife. To add to the horror, the _Essex_ had caught on fire forward and aft. Still undismayed, Porter determined to close with the enemy. The only sail that could be hoisted, owing to the mangled condition of the rigging, was the flying-jib. He raised this, cut his cable, and ran down on both ships, with the intention of boarding the _Phoebe_ if possible. At the prospect of being able to fight back, his men revived again, and a cheer ran along the shattered decks. As the running-gear of the enemy was still intact, they easily kept out of the _Essex’s_ way, the _Phoebe_ edged off, and, choosing her distance, kept up her tremendous firing. Putting his helm hard down, Captain Porter, finding the wind had shifted slightly, determined to run his ship on shore, land the crew, and blow her up. He approached once more within musket-shot of the sandy beach, when, in an instant, the wind shifted from the land, as if the British had bribed the elements, and once more the _Essex_ was driving down upon the _Phoebe_. But her tiller-ropes were shot away, and the poor hulk was totally unmanageable. At this moment one of the strangest incidents of the whole affair occurred. Lieutenant Downes of the _Essex Junior_, which still lay at her old anchorage under the guns at the battery, loaded one of his boats and rowed through the fierce fusillade down to his superior officer. He came on board through a port, but his services could be of no avail. After a consultation, Porter ordered him to return to his own ship, and be prepared for defending her or destroying her in case of an attack. So Downes loaded his boat with wounded, and, leaving some of his crew on board the _Essex_ to make room for them, he started to make his way back to his own little vessel. The enemy did not respect his cargo or his gallant action, but opened a hot fire upon him as he returned. Luckily, however, the small cutter escaped swamping, and the men at the long oars jumped her through the water at a rapid rate, despite the plashing of the bullets all around them.