“Thank God, I’m out of range of the demons,” said Marie to a Spanish officer who had come to her side.
Just then, there was a lull in the battle. Dewey’s ships ceased firing and withdrew to the middle of the bay. No apparent damage had been sustained by the vessels of either command.
“The old fellow is going to quit,” said Marie to the Spanish officer who stood erect with his field glasses carefully trained on Dewey’s squadron.
“They’re coming this way, Marie,” said the officer.
“My God! where will we go, if they come past the island and open fire on us again?” shouted Marie. “We haven’t a mounted gun left to shoot with.”
The officer remained quiet. Presently he said, “They’ve stopped and are dividing up their ammunition. Evidently they are going to resume the fight.”
He guessed it right. In thirty minutes Dewey’s vessels were heading straight for the Spanish fleet. His first shot set on fire the beautiful Spanish flag-ship, the “Reina Christina.” Then her magazine blew up. She was hastily scuttled on the beach near Cavite and deserted amid great disorder by that portion of her crew which was able to leave. The dead and the dying were left to their fate. Magazines in several other Spanish ships soon blew up. In a few minutes most of them were on fire. Dewey’s gunners were doing deadly execution. Hundreds of Spanish soldiers could be seen jumping from their burning vessels into the ocean.
“Now what is he going to do?” said Marie, with some excitement, as she saw one of Dewey’s ships, the “Concord,” disengage herself from the rest of the fleet and head straight for a large Spanish gun-boat that was lying off to herself and whose sole business it seemed was to keep up a deadly fire on Dewey’s flagship, the “Olympia.” The Concord literally disembowled her.
“The heartless wretches!” exclaimed Marie, as she watched another American ship, the “Petrel,” leave the line of battle and make a rapid run right past the Spanish fleet for the village of Cavite. “I wonder what the villains are up to now.” In a few minutes the Petrel returned, with six small vessels in tow as prizes. In addition, she was flying at her mast head this signal, “Have destroyed eight vessels.”
Dewey’s ships moved over toward the city of Manila, took their positions in line and remained quiet.