There was no manoeuvring--from the first gun to the last, it was a steady broadside to broadside engagement, the vessels gradually drifting nearer as they fired. The Hornet was wrapped in flame from stem to stern, so incessant were her discharges, and in fifteen minutes the commander of the Penguin, finding that he would soon be a total wreck, put up his helm to board, and surged with a heavy crash full on the Hornet's quarter. The first lieutenant immediately called on his men to board, but they would not follow him. The American crew then wished to board, in turn, but Captain Biddle, seeing that his guns were rending the enemy in pieces, restrained their ardor, and recommenced firing. The sea was heavy, and as the two vessels rose and fell together on the huge swell, the strain was so great that the Penguin carried away the Hornet's mizen rigging and spanker boom, and swung round against her quarter. While in this position, an English officer cried out that he surrendered. Captain Biddle then ordered the firing to cease, and leaping on the taffrail, inquired if the vessel had struck. Two marines on the enemy's forecastle levelled their pieces at him and fired--the ball of one entering his neck, inflicting a painful wound. Enraged at this treacherous act, the crew of the Hornet poured in a sudden volley of musketry, which stretched the two marines dead on the deck. In the same moment the vessels parted, the Hornet forging ahead, carrying the enemy's bowsprit and foremast with her. The latter then wore, and was about to pour in a raking broadside, when twenty men rushed to the side of the ship, lifting up their hands and calling for quarter. It was with the greatest difficulty Captain Biddle could restrain his men, so excited were they at the attempt on their commander's life. The loss of the Penguin in this short action was forty-two killed and wounded, while the Hornet had but a single man killed and only ten wounded. Among the latter was Lieutenant (since Commodore) Conner, who, though helpless and bleeding, refused to leave the deck till the enemy struck. This disparity shows in a striking manner the superior gunnery of the American navy.