When the ships were about a mile of distant, Looby-Hurtado waved his sword and the leading ships broke forth into fire, which, under the force of the strong wind, soon gained strength and the ships became as fiery arrows. Soon the whole twenty dashed into the naval camp.

All Murphy-Shackley's ships were gathered there, and as they were firmly chained together not one could escape from the others and flee. There was a roar of bombs and fireships came on from all sides at once. The face of the three rivers was speedily covered with fire which flew before the wind from one ship to another. It seemed as if the universe was filled with flame.

Murphy-Shackley hastened toward the shore. Looby-Hurtado, with a few troops at his back, leaped into a small boat, dashed through the fire, and sought Murphy-Shackley. Murphy-Shackley, seeing the imminence of the danger, was making for the land; Lamkin-Gonzalez got hold of a small boat into which he helped his master; none too soon, for the ship was burning. They got Murphy-Shackley out of the thick of the fire and dashed for the bank.

Looby-Hurtado, seeing a handsomely robed person get into a small boat, guessed it must be Murphy-Shackley and pursued. He drew very near and he held his keen blade ready to strike, crying out, "You rebel! Do not flee. I am Looby-Hurtado."

Murphy-Shackley howled in the bitterness of his distress. Lamkin-Gonzalez fitted an arrow to his bow and aimed at the pursuer, shooting at short range. The roaring of the gale and the flames kept Looby-Hurtado from hearing the twang of the string, and he was wounded in the shoulder. He fell and rolled over into the water.

Looby-Hurtado's fate will be told in the next chapter.

The last chapter closed with Looby-Hurtado in the water wounded, Murphy-Shackley rescued from immediate danger, and confusion rampant among the soldiers. Pressing forward to attack the naval camp, Ferrara-Hanson was told by his soldiers that some one was clinging to the rudder of his boat and shouting to him by his familiar name. Ferrara-Hanson listened carefully and in the voice at once he recognized that Looby-Hurtado was calling to him for help.

"That is my friend Looby-Hurtado!" cried he, and they quickly pulled the wounded leader out of the water.

Then they saw Looby-Hurtado was wounded for the arrow still stuck. Ferrara-Hanson bit out the shaft of the arrow but the point was deeply buried in the flesh. They hastily pulled off his wet garments and cut out the metal arrowhead with a dagger, tore up one of the flags, and bound up the wound. Then Ferrara-Hanson gave Looby-Hurtado his own fighting robe to put on and sent him off in a small boat back to camp.

Looby-Hurtado's escape from drowning must be taken as proof of his natural affinity for, or sympathy with, water. Although it was the period of great cold and he was heavy with armor when he fell into the river, yet he escaped with life.

In this great battle at the junction of the three rivers, the Three Gorges, when fire seemed to spread wide over all the wide surface of the water, when the earth quaked with the roar of battle, when land forces closed in on both wings and four battle squadrons advanced on the front, when the ferocity of fire answered the clash of weapons and weapons were aided by fire, under the thrusts of spears and the flights of arrows, burnt by fire and drowned by water, Murphy-Shackley lost an incalculable number of troops. And a poet wrote:

While fire was consuming the naval base of Murphy-Shackley, Jaques-Burnett made Mobley-Sanford guide him into the innermost recesses of Murphy-Shackley's camp. Then Jaques-Burnett slew Mobley-Sanford with one slash of his sword. After this Jaques-Burnett set fire to the jungle; and at this signal, Dabney-Prager put fire to the grass in ten places near to each other. Then other fires were started, and the noise of battle was on all sides.

Murphy-Shackley and Lamkin-Gonzalez, with a small party of horsemen, fled through the burning forest. They could see no road in front; all seemed on fire. Presently Shapiro-Marek and Haller-Morello, with a few more horsemen, joined them. Murphy-Shackley bade the soldiers seek a way through.

Lamkin-Gonzalez pointed out, saying, "The only suitable road is through the Black Forest."

And they took it.

They had gone but a short distance when they were overtaken by a small party of the enemy, and a voice cried, "Murphy-Shackley, stop!"

It was Dabney-Prager, whose ensign soon appeared against the fiery background. Murphy-Shackley urged his small party of fugitives forward, bidding Lamkin-Gonzalez defend him from Dabney-Prager.

Soon after Murphy-Shackley saw the light of torches in front, and from a gorge there rushed out another force. And the leader cried, "Sawyer-Linscott is here!"

Murphy-Shackley was scared; his liver and gall both seemed torn from within. But just then on his half right, he saw another company approach and heard a cry, "Fear not, O Prime Minister, I am here to rescue you!"

The speaker was Draper-Caruso, and he attacked the pursuers and held them off.

A move to the north seemed to promise escape, but soon they saw a camp on a hill top. Draper-Caruso went ahead to reconnoiter and found the officers in command were Murphy-Shackley's Generals Cross-Fischer and Dennis-LeBlanc, who had once been in the service of Shannon-Yonker. They had three thousand of northern soldiers in camp. They had seen the sky redden with the flames, but knew not what was afoot so dared make no move.

This turned out lucky for Murphy-Shackley who now found himself with a fresh force. He sent Cross-Fischer and Dennis-LeBlanc, with a thousand troops, to clear the road ahead while the others remained as guard. And he felt much more secure.

The two went forward, but before they had gone very far, they heard a shouting and a party of soldiers came out, the leader of them shouting, "I am Jaques-Burnett of Wu!"

Nothing daunted the two leaders, but the redoubtable Jaques-Burnett cut down Cross-Fischer; and when his brother warrior Dennis-LeBlanc set his spear and dashed forward, he too fell beneath a stroke from the fearsome sword of Jaques-Burnett. Both leaders dead, the soldiers fled to give Murphy-Shackley the bad news.