A brave old sailor-man was Commodore Bainbridge. The bullet in his thigh was ample excuse for going below, and now he had received a still more painful wound. But no thought of leaving the deck entered his mind. The bolt was cut from the wound and a bandage applied, when the commodore was again in the full swing of battle--indeed he had directed the movements of his ship while the surgeon attended the wound. The _Java_ was heading down across the _Constitution’s_ bows, but the _Constitution_ was kept turning as rapidly as needed. Her wheel was gone, but there was a tiller below decks with tackles to handle it, and a line of midshipmen passed the word from the quarter-deck to the men at the tackles. Around came the two ships, and now as they stood to the eastward with their yards braced on the port tack, their head sails began to show clear of the towering smoke-clouds. “The _Java_ kept the weather-gauge tenaciously, fore-reaching a little.” She could choose her position. If the _Constitution_ tried to close the distance she would have to point her bows well-nigh straight at the broadside of the _Java_ and so receive a raking, perhaps half a dozen, before getting yard-arm to yard-arm, but at last Commodore Bainbridge determined to take the risk and close, happen what might. Sheeting home the fore- and main-sails he put down his helm and stood up at pistol range on the _Java’s_ lee beam. Had the gunnery of the _Java_ at this time been at all worthy of the ship, the _Constitution_ would have suffered frightfully. But the fact was the Englishmen blazed away like a “tenderfoot” when he sees his first deer in the Adirondacks--they blazed away, not knowing whether their guns were aimed at high heaven or the depths of the earth. On the other hand, the American gunners in this battle were not a little like a grizzled Adirondack guide out for meat. As the _Constitution_ ranged up under the _Java’s_ lee every shot told. [Illustration: DIAGRAM OF THE BATTLE OF THE CONSTITUTION AND JAVA.]