And of course he is quite right; this Ramage has not let himself be dazzled by the idea of taking the surrender of an island. 'So, My Lord, we reach stalemate?'
He is shaking his head; quite a definite movement But has he an alternative proposal after all? His lieutenant is looking round at him, obviously surprised. Lausser is sitting rigidly in his chair. 'What do you propose, then?' The words sound strangled, but Ramage seems not to notice.
That you surrender without conditions, Your Excellency.'
'But, My Lord, you cannot expect me - why, you could sign the instrument and just sail away, leaving us to be slaughtered by these rebels.'
'I could.' And now he looks me straight in the eye. 'But then all I would have would be a worthless sheet of paper, not an island, so do you think I would?'
'No, I do not' In all honesty one has to admit that 'But why do"you reject my condition?'
'Your Excellency, I have told you. I can't sign a document guaranteeing you something which cannot be guaranteed. Some men would sign a document guaranteeing to make the sun rise in the west I am not one of them.'
"What do you suggest we do?' And here at last in the sixty - third year of my life, I, Gottlieb van Someren, Governor of Curacao, once honoured with several titles which had been held by many forebears but now officially addressed as 'Citizen', am asking a young British frigate captain what he suggests I do with the island I govern. The ironies of wars and revolution - and of Nature's delays too: where is the Delft? 'You have only one choice, Your Excellency. I think you know what it is.'
'I prefer to hear it from you.'
'Surrender the island without any condition, and put yourself under the protection of His Britannic Majesty. I repeat the last part - "put yourself under the protection of His Britannic Majesty". You get no guarantee about anything.'
'How will that help me or my people?'
Now he gives a boyish grin; not an artful or sly grin, but one of satisfaction.
'All it does is help me to help you. At this moment I can't help you in any way - indeed, it is doubtful if I should even be talking with you - because you are "the enemy". If you surrender and put yourself under British protection, you become my ally. And with a clear conscience I can do all I can to help you. But I could not sign any guarantee with a clear conscience. Shall we now compose a brief "instrument of surrender" and the four of us sign it?'
The English lieutenant's eyes light up. With his name on a document in which the British accept the surrender of Curacao, he knows his name goes down in history. And so does mine, but for the opposite reason. 'Yes, let us begin with a rough draft . . .' '
Aitken looked at the sheet of paper which Major Lausser had slid across the table towards him. It was a large sheet which had been folded in half to make four sides, and three of them were covered with the neat, copper - plate handwriting of the Governor's clerk, who had painstakingly copied the draft agreed by the captain and the Governor.
Aitken wiped the quill on a piece of cloth and dipped it in the ink. This was a fine thing, his name on a document (an 'instrument of surrender" was its proper name, apparently) by which the captain took the surrender of this whole island. Why, running before a fair wind it took the Calypso five or six hours to sail from one end to another. At least 400 square miles, perhaps more. The captain insisted he read it right through and say aloud, for them all to hear, that he understood it. Then, and only then, was he to sign it as one of the two representatives of His Britannic Majesty.
It would be printed in the London Gazette, that was certain. The Gazette would refer to the surrender, print the wording of the instrument, and give his name as well. A document of state, signed by him. But he wanted to read more slowly, even if the foreign gentlemen were showing signs of impatience, because he knew his hand was trembling, and he did not want to write a shaky signature.
It was a long way from Dunkeld to Amsterdam, from the Highlands of Scotland to this parched tropical island perched on the edge of the Spanish Main, and, despite the excitement and actions of the past few months, these latest twenty - four hours almost passed belief. At this very moment the frigate of which he was first lieutenant - of which he was second in command - was moored across the entrance channel of the port of the island of Curacao, the Netherlands' most important base in the West Indies. Not a man or vessel could stir without Captain Ramage's agreement. And now the captain was becoming impatient, too, but his hand still felt shaky.
'Sign under Major Lausser's name. Your full name, and then "Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and second - in - command of His Majesty's frigate the Calypso" underneath. Don't blot it.'
The captain was speaking quietly, just as he had been doing for the past couple of hours. And what a couple of hours. There were times when Mr Ramage had refused some Dutch request and it had seemed unreasonable: he, lames Aitken, would have agreed with the Dutch on that. Then a few minutes later it would become clear that the refusal was proof of how quickly the captain's mind had been working; he had looked far ahead and seen difficulties, and the Dutch Governor had finally agreed, often looking very crestfallen that he hadn't thought of it first.
Well, there was the result of it alclass="underline" a folded sheet of paper in exchange for an island nearly forty miles long and with a harbour third only to Port Royal in Jamaica and Cartagena on the Main. And there were the signatures - Gottlieb van Someren, Governor; Lausser, Major; Ramage, Captain; and now James Aitken, Lieutenant.
And he had managed to write it without making a blot. The writing was a bit shaky, but Lausser had been nervous, too; he had wiped his hand before signing because it was obviously damp from perspiration. And perspiration meant nervousness because this room was delightfully cool, built so that the Trade wind blew along its entire length, and the sun was kept out by the jalousies.
Now a second copy was being passed across. This was the French version. The Governor had wanted the second copy to be in Dutch but Mr Ramage had refused because he did not speak the language. Finally they had agreed on French, which he suspected Mr Ramage spoke better than the Governor.
Now they all shook hands. The Governor paid him a nice compliment, too, about handling the Calypso and helping with the negotiations. And the Governor suddenly said, pointing at the signed documents: 'Before we were enemies; now we are friends.'
'But we have quite a task ahead of us,' Mr Ramage said, obviously warning the two Dutchmen that signing papers might end wars but it didn't win battles.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Back on board the Calypso Ramage returned Wagstaffe's salute and commented on the springs now on the anchor cable. With only three hours of daylight left, there was a lot to be done. The Calypso's other three boats had been hoisted out and now floated astern of the frigate, the ducklings behind the mother.
The officers were all within sight of the gangway: obviously they had expected a surge of activity the moment the captain and the first lieutenant returned from Government House. Ramage decided it was too hot for them all to go down to his cabin and pointed towards the binnacle.
Briefly and quickly Ramage gave each of them his instructions. Rennick was to divide his Marines among the Calypso's four boats. Wagstaffe was to command one, Baker another, Kenton the third, and Ramage himself the fourth. This had resulted in protests from both Southwick and Aitken, but Ramage had silenced both of them by asking if they spoke French. When they admitted what he knew well, that they did not, he had shrugged his shoulders, as if that was the reason why they had not been chosen.