“Well done, my brave lads. We have got her now!” shouted Jones; and he ordered the sailing master to haul the Richard’s cable over and tie the jib-boom of the Serapis to his own mizzenmast. When the cable caught and became tangled the master uttered an oath.
“Don’t swear,” said Jones calmly. “In another moment we may be in eternity; but let us do our duty.”
The ropes and spars of the two ships were now so tangled that the men in the top of the Richard scrambled across into the rigging of the enemy, like monkeys in two treetops. In spite of all the captain’s efforts, the Richard was now on fire in a dozen places. The people on shore cheered, for it looked as if the English were burning the “pirate” ship. The master-at-arms, hearing a report that the captain and Dale had both been killed, started with two others to surrender to the commander of the Serapis, all three shouting, “Quarter!” The commander of the Serapis, hearing the cry, asked Jones if he was ready to give up.
“No,” shouted the American commander, “I have not yet begun to fight!”
By this time even the masts of the Richard were burning; but an American sailor saw a chance to do great harm to the enemy. Seizing a hand grenade, or bomb, he crept across the yardarms of both ships and threw it down upon the deck of the Serapis. The bomb fell and burst on a train of gunpowder scattered by broken cartridges. The flame blazed along past several of the big guns, ending in a terrific explosion.
This turned the tide of the battle. The Americans swarmed on board the Serapis and took possession of it. The English commander surrendered by pulling down the flag of his ship. In giving up his sword to Jones he said, with a sneer,
“It is painful to me that I must resign to a man with a halter around his neck.”
The American captain seemed not to notice the intended insult. Every American boy and girl has a right to be proud of Paul Jones for his noble reply: