“a shell!” echoed ned.

as he spoke there came another screaming rush, and this time it was followed by a reverberating crash. the earth shook. the projectile had burst near at hand.

“thought i hadn’t forgotten the tune,” muttered stanley.

“there must be a ship to seaward pumping metal into this wasp nest!” exclaimed midshipman stark, his face burning with excitement.

“that’s it, sir, i think. here, strong, give me a leg up—so.”

once more stanley peered through the window, supporting himself as before.

“there’s some sort of craft out yonder,” he announced, fairly sputtering out his words in his excitement. “she’s firing so fast i can’t see her for smoke.”

explosion followed explosion now. bugle calls resounded amid the noise of falling buildings. the inmates of the prison could hear the clash of accouterments as troops raced by. hoarse commands sounded near and far.

“there’s a fine picnic now, i’m thinking,” grinned stanley, “and—great scott!”

an explosion louder than any of the preceding ones sounded. a choking dust filled the air. it drifted in through the window.

“great dewey! they’re shelling this building!” yelled midshipman stark.

cr-as-h!

the place shook as if an earthquake had passed beneath it. mingling with the roar of the exploding shell and the scream of the projectiles that were now pumping into the city came a sound of splintering and smashing.

“those fellows have the range,” shouted ned above the uproar.

“yes, and if we don’t get out of here quick we’ll find a grave in the ruins,” roared the midshipman.

as he spoke the building shook to its foundations once more, and a heavy explosion rent the air.

“too close for comfort,” decided stanley. “come on, we’ll try the door.”

together the americans rushed the portal. the strong oak withstood their united assault without a tremor, however.

“we’ll be killed like rats if we don’t escape!” exclaimed herc despairingly.

“what are we to do?” gasped ned, as they stood in the center of the prison, with the sweat streaming from them. outside the bombardment grew heavier. it seemed incessant now. suddenly stanley gave an exclamation. his companions, gazing at him, saw that his cheeks were white.

“do you smell something?” he choked out.

a pungent odor had filled the air of the prison within the last few minutes.

“yes, smells like burning,” assented the middy.

“it is burning. the place is on fire.”

“on fire!”

“and burning like a dry haystack. if we’re not out of here in a few minutes we’re goners.”

even while he spoke the sinister odor grew stronger. now their horrified ears caught the crackle of the flames as they ate their way toward them. sparks drifted in through the window and lay glowing on the floor of the place.

“the door! try it once more. it’s our last chance!”

it was stanley who spoke. his words came chokingly in the reek of the burning building. but as once more their shoulders crashed against the heavy portal they fell back with a groan of despair. they had made no more impression on it than if it had been made of boiler plate.

suddenly an explosion, sharper and more ear-splitting than its predecessors, detonated—in their very faces, as it seemed. they were flung reeling in every direction, while suffocating fumes and dust filled the air.

ned felt a sharp pain in his leg and put down his hand. it came away red and sticky. a flying splinter had struck him. anxiously he gazed about him. his companions lay as they had been flung. but an instant later they began scrambling to their feet.

“w-what happened?” gasped ned.

“a shell burst in our faces almost—and look!”

stanley’s voice broke off in a joyous yell.

the oaken door, riven and splintered by the projectile, hung saggingly on one hinge. a child could have pushed it open.

“i’d give six months’ pay to the fellow who aimed that gun!” cried stanley, as the americans charged in a body on the tottering portal. it was swept aside with a crash, and out they poured into the street. their guards had long since fled. the only visible inhabitants about were the pigs. here and there these horrible creatures were nosing huddled forms, which the boys realized with a chill were those of victims of the bombardment. it was the first glimpse of war at close quarters for ned and herc. they felt rather sickened.

but it was no time for indulging in such thoughts. all about them shells were bursting.[200] more screamed past overhead. the air was filled with choking dust and acrid powder fumes.

suddenly a sullen sound of firing sounded off to the right and below them. it was quite near at hand.

“the shore batteries!” cried stanley. “come on, we’ve got no time to lose.”

“where can we go?” exclaimed midshipman stark. “if we go toward boca del sierras we’ll run right into the arms of the insurgents.”

“we’ll head for the shore!” exclaimed stanley. “come on.”

suiting the action to the word, he started off, followed by the others. what a sight they presented! how different from the trim man-of-war’s men of every-day life! with faces grimed where dirt had rubbed into sweat, their clothes half in ribbons, cut and bleeding from scratches received when the providential shell burst, they looked more like savage combatants in a desperate fight for life than american sailors.

as they ran the disastrous effects of the bombardment were everywhere apparent. houses[201] which a short time before had been occupied,—gaped like open dolls’ houses, exposing to view the contents of every floor. natives, some of them wounded and bleeding, staggered about under loads of cherished household goods. once they passed a man half frenzied from fright, dashing aimlessly about with a parrot in a cage. more pathetic were the groups of women and children deserted by their cowardly men folk. these cowered in the shadow of the shell-riven buildings, in imminent danger of having the tottering structures collapse on them.

more than one of these latter groups the americans found time to warn of their danger. but it was a hurried dash, with little time for acts of mercy or kindness. curiously enough, above all other sounds, the squealing of the town pigs predominated. the creatures, frenzied by the confusion and noise, dashed about open-mouthed. they looked as dangerous as wild boars.

on dashed the americans, and now a wandering breeze swept aside for a moment the clouds of heavy smoke enveloping the attacking ship,[202] and they recognized her with a cry of surprise as the destroyer general barrill, which they had last seen at hermillo. her decks flashed incessantly as her guns were worked. stanley looked on approvingly.

“they’ll make a mess of this place.”

“i don’t know,” cried the middy suddenly, as a shell shrieked toward the courageous little craft. “the land batteries have opened fire.”

“and, by christopher columbus, they’ve got the range, too!” exclaimed stanley, as a shell struck the water near the adventurous little destroyer.

“if only we were aboard her we would be safe for a while,” breathed ned, as they perceived the red, white and blue, with the gold star, of the costavezan republic floating at the bombarding vessel’s stern.

“it was my idea to make for her,” rejoined stanley. “come on, let’s get down on that little wharf there and wave to her. if we can attract their attention they’ll take us on board.”

“if the fire from the fort doesn’t get too hot,[203] and they have to skedaddle first,” observed the middy.

there was good reason for his fear. shells were now breaking all about the destroyer. so far, however, she seemed uninjured.

they gained the wharf that stanley had indicated in a few minutes. as they stood breathless on the slender timbers stanley gave a shout.

“a boat!” he exclaimed, pointing to a small dinghy moored below.

“come on, we’ll row out!” cried the middy. “get aboard there, men. slippy now!”

in another moment they had put several boats’ lengths between themselves and the wharf.

“hooray!” ned could not help shouting, as the boat moved rapidly over the water. his enthusiasm received an abrupt check. not a hundred yards from them a shell from the fort struck the water.

“they’ve seen us!” cried the middy.

“that may have been a chance shot, sir,” observed stanley. “if they fire any more we’ll know then what their target is.”

even as he spoke another shell whizzed toward them. it exploded in a “raying” smother of brown smoke.

“wow! that was close,” exclaimed the boatswain’s mate, as the spray showered them.

“another one like that——”

boom!

the explosion cut short ned’s words.

“they’re getting the range. that one wasn’t a hundred feet away,” grunted stanley. “give way now, boys.”

he suited the action to the word. his great muscles strained till the oar bent under his pull, but fast as the boat leaped through the water there was still a lamentably large space separating her from the torpedo-boat destroyer.

the general barrill all this time had been firing away unceasingly at the shore, but without apparently succeeding in silencing one of the guns.

“i hope that our old general is up in that battery,” observed the middy, as a shell from the destroyer burst in clouds of dust right inside the fortifications, as it seemed.

“if he is, he swallowed some dust that time,” laughed stanley. he glanced over his shoulder.

the general barrill was not far now. they could see figures on her decks waving them encouragingly on.

“come on, boys,” shouted stanley, “a little more steam. that’s it. now, we won’t be——”

a blinding flash filled the air about them. involuntarily ned and herc threw their hands in front of their eyes. it was well they did so, for the quick movement threw ned out of the path of a jagged piece of metal. it whisked past his ear viciously. a shell had exploded almost alongside them.

before they could uncover their eyes the resulting swell swept down on the boat. overloaded as she was, the water poured in over her gunwales in a torrent. it was useless to attempt to bail.

the detonation of the shell had hardly ceased ringing in their ears before the americans were struggling in the water, with shells screaming and exploding all about them.

the americans were struggling in the water, with shells screaming and exploding all about them.