'You will find Brisbane has anchored Cruizer at the north end of the Middle Ground with lights hoisted as a mark for all the boats out surveying. I have instructed the masters and officers now out sounding to anchor their boats on the five fathom line until relieved by the launches carrying the buoys, but I admit the superiority of your suggestion. In view of your experience then, you should take your boats to the southern end of the Holland Deep and establish the run of the Middle Ground to the southward. It is essential that both limits of the Deep are buoyed out by the morning and, if possible, that its southernmost extension is discovered. Lord Nelson desires to move his squadron south tomorrow and to make his attack upon the Danish line from a position at the southern end of the Middle Ground.'
Virago's two boats lay gunwhale to gunwhale in the darkness. While Quilhampton supervised the issue of rum, Drinkwater gave Easton his final instructions.
'We steer west by compass, Mr Easton, until you find five fathoms, when you are to drop your anchor and show a light. I will pull round you to establish the general trend of the bottom at a distance of sixty or seventy yards. If I am satisfied that we've discovered the edge of the bank I will pull away from you to the south south east until I am approximately a cable southward, then I will turn west and sound for the five fathom line and signal you with three lights when I am anchored. If your bearing has not altered greatly we may reasonably assume the line of the bank to be constant between the two boats. If there is a great change it will show the trend of the bank towards the east or west and we will buoy it. Do you understand?'
'Perfectly sir.'
'Very well, now we will lay a buoy at the first point to determine the starting position, so make ready and take a bearing from Cruizer when it is laid.'
'Aye, aye, sir.'
'Very well, let's make a start. Give way, Mr Q.'
The night was bitterly cold and the leadsmen were going to become very wet. The wind remained from the north and the sea, though slight, was vicious enough for the deep boats, sending little patters of freezing spray into their faces so that first they ached intolerably and then they numbed and the men at the oars became automata. Just within sight of each other the two boats pulled west, the boat-compasses on the bottom boards lit by lanterns at the officers' feet. Forward the leadsman chanted, his line specially shortened to five fathoms so as not to waste time with greater depths.
Drinkwater kneaded the muscle of his right upper arm which was growing increasingly painful the longer they remained in this cold climate. The knotted fibres of the flesh sent a dull ache through his whole chest as the hours passed and he cursed Edouard Santhonax, the man who had inflicted the wound.
The shout of 'Bottom!' was almost simultaneous from the two boats and Drinkwater nodded for Quilhampton to circle Easton's boat, listening to his leadsman while the splash over the bow of the other boat indicated where Easton got his anchor overboard. Drinkwater picked up the hand-bearing compass. He would need the shaded lantern to read it but they were roughly west of Easton now.
'Five, five, no bottom, five, four, three, shoaling fast, sir!'
'Very well, bring her round to the northward,' he said to Quilhampton, staring at the dark shape of the other boat which had swung to the wind.
'Three, three, four, three, four, three…'
'Bring her to starboard again, Mr Q.' The oars knocked rhythmically against the thole pins and spray splashed aboard.
'… three, three, four, four, five… no bottom sir, no bottom…' He looked back at Easton and then at the boat compass. Easton was showing a light now; presumably he had made his notes and could afford to exhibit the guttering lantern on the gunwhale.
'Head south, now, Mr Q, pass across his stern so we can hail him.'
'Aye, aye, sir.'
'Everything all right, Mr Easton?'
'Aye, sir. We anchored to the buoy sinker and have almost readied the first buoy…' The sound of hammering came from the boat.
'Keep showing your light, Mr Easton. Head south south east, Mr Q, pull for three minutes then turn west.'
Beside him Quilhampton began to whisper, 'One, and two, and three, and four…'
Drinkwater kept his eyes on the light aboard Easton's boat. Presently he felt the pressure of the tiller as Quilhampton turned west. He listened to the headsman's chant.
'No bottom, no bottom, no bottom… no bottom, five!'
'Holdwater all! Anchor forrard there!'
A splash answered Quilhampton's order, followed by the thrum of hemp over a gunwhale. 'Oars… oars across the boat…'
The men pulled their looms inboard and bent their heads over their crossed arms. Backs heaved as the monotonous labour ceased for a while. Drinkwater took a bearing of Easton's feeble light and found it to be north by east a half east.
'Issue water and biscuit, Mr Q.' He raised his voice. 'Change places, lads, carefully now, we'll have grog issued when we lay the first buoy. Well done the leadsman. Are you very wet Tregembo?'
'Fucking soaked, zur.' There was a low rumble of laughter round the boat.
'Serves 'ee right for volunteerin',' said an anonymous voice in the darkness and they all laughed again.
'Right, we wait now, for Mr Easton. Give him the three lights Mr Q—'
Quilhampton raised the lantern from the bottom boards and held it up three times, receiving a dousing of Easton's in reply, but then the master's lantern reappeared on the gunwhale and nothing seemed to happen for a long time. A restive murmur went round the boat as the perspiration dried on the oarsmen and the cold set in, threatening to cramp ill-nourished and overexerted muscles.
'I daresay he's experiencing some delay in getting the buoy over,' said Drinkwater and, a few moments later, the light went out. Five minutes afterwards Easton was hailing them.
'We tangled with a boat from Harpy, sir. He demanded what we were doing in his sector.'
'What did you say?'
'Said we were from Virago executing Lord Nelson's orders, he used the password "Westmoreland" to which I replied "Northumberland".'
'Did that satisfy him?'
'Well he said he'd never heard of Virago, sir, but Lord Nelson sounded familiar and would we be kind enough to find out how far to the south this damned bank went.'
'Only too happy to oblige… sound round me then carry on to the south…'
'D'you think the Danes'll attack us, sir?' asked Quilhampton.
'To be frank I don't know; if 'twas the French doing this at Spithead I doubt we would leave 'em unmolested. On the other hand they seem to have made plenty of preparations to receive us and may wish to lull us a little. Still, it would be prudent to keep a sharp lookout, eh?'
'Aye, sir.'
They waited what seemed an age before the three lights were shown from Easton's boat then they continued south, the men stiff with cold and eager to work up some warmth. After sounding round the master's boat they left it astern, the lead plopping overboard as the oars thudded gently against the thole pins.
As the leadsman found the five fathom line the boat was anchored to the net of round shot on its ten fathom line and Drinkwater had the oars brought inboard and stowed while they prepared the buoy. Hauling alongside the four planks and two spars the men pulled them aboard, dripping over their knees, and cast off the lashings.
'Do you make sure the holes in the planks coincide before you nail 'em, Mr Q, or we're in trouble…'
They hauled the awkward and heavy planks across the boat in the form of a cross and, holding the lantern up, aligned the holes. Nailing the planks proved more difficult than anticipated since the point at which the hammer struck was unsupported. Eventually the nails were driven home and spunyarn lashings passed to reinforce them.