The Revenge of the Adolphus by Stephen Crane

The _Chicken_ was doing her best. Pent's posture at the wheel seemed to indicate that her best was about thirty-four knots. In his eagerness he was braced as if he alone was taking in a 10,000 ton battleship through Hell Gate.

But the _Chicken_ was not too far in the rear and Pent could see clearly that he was to have no minor part to play. Some of the antique shells had struck the _Holy Moses_ and he could see the escaped steam shooting up from her. She lay close inshore and was lashing out with four six-pounders as if this was the last opportunity she would have to fire them. She had made the Spanish gunboats very sick. A solitary gun on the one moored to the wharf was from time to time firing wildly; otherwise the gunboats were silent. But the beach in front of the town was a line of fire. The _Chicken_ headed for the _Holy Moses_ and, as soon as possible, the six-pounder in her bow began to crack at the gunboat moored to the wharf.