"Crash! Bang!"
Another shell had struck the Essex, this time in the aft gun turret.
"Report, Mr. Chadwick," said Jack briefly.
Frank hurried to the turret.
"What's the damage, Captain?" he asked of the chief of the gun crew.
"One gun smashed, sir," was the reply. "Three of the crew killed and five injured."
"Other guns still working?"
"Can't you hear 'em, sir?"
Frank smiled in spite of himself and cast a quick glance around.
In spite of the death that had overtaken their comrades, the surviving gun crews in the turret were working like Trojans. The big guns continued to spit defiance at the enemy.