Meanwhile the Duke of Medina Sidonia was very sharp with his gunners, whom he ordered on his flagship for a lecture on gunnery. "Fools! what was the good of firing so high, and hitting only the sea!" Perhaps the gunners had not the means of depressing the muzzles of their guns. Anyhow, one master-gunner went back to his ship very sulky indeed. He was a Dutchman, and it was said his wife had been insulted by a Spanish officer. He resolved to take his revenge out in powder. He laid a train of powder to the ship's magazine, fired it and jumped overboard; two hundred men were blown into the air. Spanish boats were sent to get the money and valuables out of her, and order was given to sink her. But somehow she got adrift, and was boarded by Lord Thomas Howard and Captain Hawkins, who found in her about fifty groaning men, horribly burnt. The stench was so disgusting that they had to quit her at once, and the Admiral ordered a small barque to tow her into Weymouth. The "scorched Spaniards" were gazed upon by the wondering townsfolk, and a quantity of gunpowder, which by luck had not exploded, was rescued and came in very useful to Howard in the days following. How Don Pedro de Valdez by collision lost his mainmast, got left behind and was captured, has been told in the chapter on Martin Frobisher. But the same night Lord Howard had a narrow escape of being taken; for in the dark he followed a lantern which he supposed was carried by Drake's ship. But Drake, in his eager pursuit, had forgotten the order to hang out a lantern, and fortunately only two vessels, the _Bear_ and the _Mary Rose_, followed Howard, the others lay to, as they could see no light. In the morning Howard found he was in the midst of the Armada, but very coolly dropped astern and quietly joined his own fleet. On Tuesday, the 23rd of July, at five o'clock A.M., the fleets were a little past Portland, when the wind changed from north-west to north-east; this caused some confusion, and some volunteer ships were surrounded by Don Alphonso de Leyva's squadron. A fierce and long fight ensued, which lasted all day. "This was the most furious and bloody skirmish of all," wrote the Dutch chronicler, "in which the Lord Admiral of England continued fighting amidst his enemy's fleet." All Tuesday, too, fresh ships came up to reinforce the English; on Saturday Howard's force numbered sixty sail, by Tuesday afternoon they had been increased to a hundred. After the long fight on Tuesday there was a lack of gunpowder and balls, and the Spaniards on Wednesday only fired fitfully at intervals.