The _Anaconda_ stood on till, when still at a safe distance from the enemy's shot, she brought her broadside to bear upon the unfortunate little _Flash_, and commenced practising with her heavy guns. A groan escaped from Adair's bosom, echoed by many others from his crew, as he saw one huge missile after another strike his devoted craft, and in a short time commit more mischief than the enemy had inflicted on her during the gallant fight he had waged for so many hours. "We must take care, should she fall into the hands of the Russians, that she is reduced to an utter wreck," observed Commander Allport. "You are certainly setting about the right way to make her so," observed Adair. He even now was strongly inclined to urge the old martinet to desist, as he saw shot after shot strike the hull of his vessel. The enemy, seeing that the English were engaged in destroying her, wisely saved their own powder by ceasing to fire, and allowed them to finish the work which they had commenced. While the _Anaconda_ was thus employed, another vessel hove in sight, steaming up from the westward. "She's the _Giaour_," observed Commander Allport, looking at the signal-book; "Murray will assist us in knocking her to pieces." "I very much doubt whether he will do anything of the sort," answered Adair, unable to restrain himself; "I only wish he had come an hour ago, to save her from destruction." "You are forgetting our relative positions, Commander Adair," observed Commander Allport, beginning now to fume. "I only expressed my opinion that Murray would not have tried to knock the _Flash_ to pieces, till he had assisted me in making further efforts to get her off," answered Adair; "and I only ask you to desist from firing till you have his opinion." Now Commander Allport did not recollect that Murray was his senior. The latter had been promoted a few weeks before him, and would have power to decide the question. Instead of desisting, however, he directed his guns so as to concentrate their fire upon one portion of the _Flash_, thus more completely to ruin her. Adair knew that it would be useless to plead any longer; his only regret was that he had obeyed his superior officer's command, and quitted the vessel, instead of remaining on board and taking the consequences. Had he remained he felt that he would certainly have run the risk of censure for disobeying orders, but he would have saved his ship, and that alone would have proved a sufficient excuse had Commander Allport brought him to a court-martial; which it was very likely he would not have dared to do. Terence consoled himself with the reflection that he had fought his ship gallantly, and would have continued to fight her till she had been knocked to pieces, and that he had acted in obedience to the orders of a superior in quitting her.