The Yankee Champion — page 82: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

<a 5a0 = eke tien F ’ > | fr fy» y 4 fi the ¢ Tr ie Be os, Ange vf THE YANKEE CHAMPION, 75 cut short by the whizzing of a shot over his head, and the booming of one of the sloop-of-war’s guns. — ‘That came rather close,’”’ said he, as he sprang to the quarter-deck, and looked after the Englishman. ‘Full as near as agreeable,’’ returned Nixon. ‘‘Hadn’t we better give ’em a taste of long-tom?”’ ‘“No, no, Maynard; we should have to luff, as we stand now, to do that, and I’d rather get out of the reach of her——” | Before the young captain could finish his sentence, smash came a shot from the enemy, and carried away the starboard main-brace. “That shot must have glanced off in a most un- common manner to have hit the main-brace,’’ said Nixon, after the temporary brace had been belayed. ‘““May I be blessed if it mustn’t though,”’ uttered Baker, who now for the first time noticed the anomaly of the thing. “Ah, there’s another one,’’ This last remark alluded to nnother shot that came harmlessly by. The Englishman was firing his bow- chasers about as fast as they could be loaded, but most of the shot hit wide of their mark. The brace was hauled in, and it was found that it was the standing part that had been carried away, and that, too, close to the bumkin. “Bring here a lantern, quick!’’ exclaimed Nixon, as he took the end of the brace in hishand. _ “By heavens! that brace was never cut by a ‘ball!’ he uttered, as he held it to the light. ‘It was a knife alone that did that.’’ Jake Maynard started as though he had been shot. The men had most all of them gathered about the starboard quarter, and he ran his eye quickly over them; but the one whom he sought was not there, €oO m EComicbooks