It was the work of but a moment.

Christy had taken some pains to have the opinion of Captain Rombold that American seamen were inferior to British circulated, and the men evidently intended to prove that they were the equals of any sailors afloat.
"Swing the muzzle of the gun to starboard!" shouted Christy, as he took hold with his own hands to point the piece, which was in position in a moment.
Captain Rombold stood but a short distance from the stump of the mizzen mast with a cutlass in his hand.

He rushed forward to rally his crew; and he seemed to be rendered desperate by the failure of the scheme to which he had resorted.

At this moment Christy heard Captain Breaker shout the order to board, and the men were springing to the rail, and tearing away the boarding netting.
"Stand by the lanyard!" cried the first lieutenant on the quarter-deck of the enemy, and he had sighted the piece himself in the absence of any regular gun crew.

"Fire!" The cloud of smoke concealed all of the deck forward of the mizzen mast, and Christy could not see what effect had been produced by the charge of grape, or whatever it was.