It was fortunate that Boyton had taken the precaution of swinging the boat to chains, for otherwise they would have died like rats in a trap and remained in their iron coffin at the bottom of the bay.
The inventor went to Lima to report the occurrence and that night Boyton received a message warning him to keep a sharp look out as there was a Chilean spy among the crew and it was he who had tampered with the valves.

At midnight two officers arrived from the capitol and the crew was summoned before them.

They had an accurate description of the spy and after close scrutiny, an officer placed his hand on the shoulder of one of the crew, saying: "This is the man." Then followed one of the quickest court martials on record.

A small group of men walked a short distance out on the dock in the darkness.

There was a click of a revolver and a dead Chilean.
The Peruvian troops were now marshaled at Chorrillos to repel the further advance of the Chilean army that had landed at Pisco.