" The English captain, feeling sure of victory,
called out: "Has your ship struck?" Our hero, Paul Jones, shouted back: "I
have not yet begun to fight!"
As the British vessel came alongside his own for a more deadly struggle,
Jones with his own hands lashed the two together. Soon both were badly
leaking, but the fighting went on as fiercely as ever. Presently both
caught fire.
[Illustration: The Fight Between the Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis.]
Then Jones turned his cannon upon the mainmast of the Serapis, and when it
threatened to fall the English captain surrendered. So after all it was
the English ship and not the American that "struck" the flag. But the
Richard could not have held out much longer, for even before the surrender
she had begun to sink.
When the English captain gave up his sword to John Paul Jones, he said:
"It is very hard to surrender to a man who has fought with a halter around
his neck." You see, Captain Jones would have been hanged as a pirate, if
taken. Jones replied: "Sir, you have fought like a hero. I hope your King
will reward you."
This was a desperate sea duel, and it lasted from half past seven in the
evening until ten o'clock.
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