Explore "Taken by the Enemy" by Oliver Optic on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
The gun on the forecastle of the Leopard was placed as far aft as / possible, so that Christy could not see it without putting his head out / at the front windows of the pilot-house, and for this reason he had not / seen what Captain Pecklar was about. But the piece must have been loaded / before, for he could not have charged it without being seen.
The captain had remarked that he could bring the labors of those in / the long-boat to an end, for Major Pierson was urging his men to their / utmost with their oars in order to reach the tug. The smoke prevented / Christy from seeing to what extent he had succeeded, though the fact / that he had fired the gun at the boat was all he needed to satisfy him / of the fidelity of the acting engineer to the cause he had just / espoused.