"Cussler, Clive - NUMA Files 04 - White Death - with Paul Kemprecos" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cussler Clive)

the boat slipped below the surface and sank within moments. Aguirrez
felt a pang of pity for the rowers, manacled to their oars and

unable to escape, but their death would be quick compared to weeks and
months of suffering.

The crew of the second galley saw the lead boat's fate, and in a
display of the nimbleness the triremes were famous for, it veered
sharply away from the caravel, then looped around to rejoin Martinez,
who had prudently held his boat back.

Aguirrez guessed that the galleys would split up, come around both
sides of the ship, careful to stay out of cannon range, then circle
back and attack the vulnerable rowers. Almost as if Martinez were
reading his thoughts, the galleys pulled apart and each began a long
swing around the opposite sides of the ship, circling like wary
hyenas.

Aguirrez heard a snap above his head, caused by a desultory flap of the
mainsail. He held his breath, wondering if it was only an errant puff
as before. Then the sail flapped again and filled out, and the masts
creaked. He ran to the bow, leaned over the rail and shouted at his
deck crew to bring the rowers back on board.

Too late.

The galleys had cut short their long, lazy loop and angled sharply back
on a course that brought them directly at the ship. The right-hand
galley swung around and presented its long side, and the gunners
concentrated their arquebus fire on the defenseless longboat. A
withering fusillade raked the rowers.

Emboldened, the second galley tried the same maneuver on the port side.
The caravel's marksmen had rallied after being taken by surprise, and
they concentrated their fire on the exposed artillery platform where
Aguirrez had last seen Martinez. El Brasero was undoubtedly hiding
behind thick wood, but he would get the message.

The volley hit the platform like a leaden fist. As soon as the
marksmen let off one shot, they picked up another weapon and fired
again, while crewmen feverishly reloaded the guns. The fusillade was
continuous and deadly. Unable to withstand the prolonged hail of fire,
the galley veered off, its hull splintered and its oars in fragments.

The caravel's crew rushed to haul in the long boats. The first boat
was bathed in blood and half the rowers were dead. Aguirrez yelled
orders to his heavy gunners, raced to the helm and grabbed the wheel.
Gun crews swarmed around the cannon and muscled the heavy weapons into
the bow gun ports. Other deckhands adjusted the rigging to wring the
most out of the freshening breeze.