He balanced the quill pen on a finger. Captain Ramage was not an admiral nor ever likely to be, so he ought to look at the situation through the protruberant and bloodshot eyes of the man who was, Henry Davis, Rear-Admiral of the Red and Commander-in-Chief of his Majesty's ships and vessels ...
The Admiral would not believe it possible, with the Juno already stripped of men to provide the prize crews for the two schooners, for Ramage to get the Surcouf ready for action within a week. He would also say - and that was much more important - that even if the French frigate could be got ready, there was still the problem of manning her. Ramage would have to halve the number of men remaining in the Juno and send them on board the Surcouf. Instead of two fully-manned frigates ready for action he would have two frigates manned with skeleton crews.
Ramage tipped the feather end of the quill so that it dropped to the desk, He had to admit that the Admiral would (by his own standards) have grounds for complaint. The difference was that the two frigates would be manned by Junos, who had already achieved more in less than a week on the station than Captain Eames and his frigate had in several months. That was not an answer he could possibly give the Admiral, though, since Captain Eames was one of his favourites.
To divide one ship's company between two frigates and two schooners might horrify Admiral Davis, but that was not the end of it. Ramage was proposing to take away another twenty men and use them for a hare-brained scheme which could make him the laughing stock of the Navy.
His thoughts were interrupted by the clerk bringing back the letters, having applied the seals. The man had no sooner left the cabin than Southwick arrived with Baker, both apologizing for being so long. Ramage told them to sit down and stared at the sealed packets. The clerk had a flowing style of handwriting and Ramage picked up the letter addressed to Admiral Davis. It would take only fifteen minutes to write another one. Or he could get the Juno under way and tow the Surcouf to Barbados. Or he could see if one of the schooners could tow her, with the second schooner in company. Or -
He picked up the two packets and handed them to Baker, deliberately ending the conflict in his mind; he then opened a drawer and took out another letter which he had written earlier.
These are your orders,' he said. 'They tell you to proceed to Barbados and deliver this to the Admiral and -' he pointed to the thinner packet '- this to the Agent for Prisoners. If you can't find the Agent, leave it with the Admiral's secretary.'
'Aye, aye, sir,' Baker said. 'I'll be under way in a few minutes: we've already shortened in the cable.'
'My written orders tell you to return here immediately you have delivered the dispatch,' Ramage said. 'It might occur to the Admiral, if he thinks about it, to keep you and La Mutine with him in Bridgetown. You might find it possible to ...'
'I'll stay on board the flagship for as little time as possible, sir,' Baker said with an understanding grin.
'What about charts?' Ramage inquired, suddenly remembering this was Baker's first voyage as an acting commanding officer, apart from the visit to Fort Royal.
'I've just been making copies of Mr Southwick's, sir.'
'I've given you copies of the challenge and reply for the next week and you have a copy of the signal book. Remember, guard them with your life and keep them in a weighted bag ready to sink if there's a chance of you being captured.'
'I know, sir.'
'I know you know,' Ramage said sternly, 'but for the whole of your time at sea up to now it has been your commanding officer's responsibility. Now you are the commanding officer ...’
‘I understand, sir,' said a chastened Baker.
When the lieutenant left the cabin, Southwick nodded. 'He's a good lad, that one. Not many young third lieutenants could take command of a schooner the way he did and handle that flag of truce business so well.'
'We've a lot to thank Lord St Vincent for,’ Ramage commented. 'He sent us good officers.'
The Master straightened up in his chair and said in what Ramage immediately recognized as his serious, let's-get-down-to-business voice: 'The Diamond, sir, what are we -'
Ramage held up his hand to silence him and stood up, going to the skylight and calling: 'Deck there.'
‘Benson here, sir,' the midshipman answered from the quarterdeck.
'Has Mr Baker left the ship yet?'
'Just gone, sir; boat's about thirty yards away. D'you want me to hail him, sir?'
'No, it's all right,' Ramage said, and sat down again.
Southwick looked puzzled and Ramage smiled. 'My dispatch to the Admiral told him that we had captured the Surcouf and were making her ready for sea. The Admiral will assume I meant making her ready to send her to Barbados. Very well, that dispatch is now on its way. Unfortunately the circumstances changed just after the dispatch had been sent and fresh decisions had to be made ...'
Southwick slapped his knee in a familiar gesture and grinned broadly. 'So that was why you kept shutting me up.'
'I don't know how you dare suggest that your commanding officer might be party to any deception, Mr Southwick,' Ramage said mildly. ‘Ishould have thought that up to now we were all far too busy to do anything more than write reports and see what was needed to get the Surcouf under way, after all, it was my duty to inform the Admiral immediately that a French convoy was expected, and using a schooner was the quickest way. I think any group of captains would see the necessity for that.'
'By jove, yes!' Southwick exclaimed, realizing that Ramage's mention of 'any group of captains' was a veiled reference to the officers forming a court martial. 'So now at last we have a few minutes to decide about the Surcouf. After you discovered you could commission her, sir, anyone would agree that you dare not send another schooner with a further report: that would weaken the blockade at a critical time.'
'Precisely,' Ramage said, 'since the convoy is likely to arrive any day.'
‘When do we start the work?' Southwick asked eagerly. The moment La Mutine is out of sight. I want Baker to be able to tell the Admiral in all honesty that when he last saw the Surcouf her yards were bare of sails and there had been no time for anything more than a quick inspection by the Juno's Master. That is what I say in my dispatch, incidentally.'
'We'll have those sails bent on and the ship ready for action by this time tomorrow, sir,' Southwick promised. 'How many men can I have for the Diamond?'
Ramage raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. 'What do you propose doing over there? Chase goats or let the men cut that broad-bladed grass and plait sennet hats?'
'I want to get the Surcouf's sheep landed there to start with,' Southwick said. 'Can't stand the constant baaa, and there's grazing plenty at the landing place. After that, a 12-pounder to cover the landing place - or a 6-pounder, if you'd prefer it, sir. Then two 12-pounders hoisted up on top of the Rock and another 12-pounder half-way up on the north-west side.'
'How do you propose getting the 12-pounders up to the top?' Ramage inquired mildly.
‘I’ll find a way,' Southwick said grimly. 'Give me those dozen Tritons and we'll haul 'em up with our teeth if necessary.'
Ramage shook his head. 'First, I want you to get those sails bent on the Surcouf’s yards: use every able-bodied man you can find. The Marines can help if necessary. I think we need Aitken; I'm going to call him in and put Wagstaffe in command of the Créole. You'd better rouse out one of the Surcouf’s own cables; we are going to need the one we used to tow her.'
Southwick looked puzzled. 'The ten-inch cable, sir?'
‘The only way you're going to get those guns up to the top of the Diamond is to rig a jackstay, and the other cables we have on board are seventeen inch, almost twice the weight...’
'A jackstay, sir?' Southwick exclaimed. 'But where can you secure the lower end? The water's too deep for the men to dive down and find a big rock, and anyway, that'd –‘