Signal Close Action (39 page)
Read Signal Close Action Online
Authors: Alexander Kent
Tags: #Nautical, #Military, #Historical Novel
He returned to the chart and stared at it once more. Corfu, a long, spindly island which seemed about to lock itself snugly to the Greek mainland. A narrow approach from the south, about ten miles across for a ship under sail. From the north, much less. Inviting self-destruction if the French had shore batteries along the high ground. Although the island was separated from the mainland by what was to all intents a small, private sea, some twenty by ten miles in size, the two real hazards were the narrow channels north and south. Also, the one good anchorage was on the eastern shore, so any sort of surprise there was out of the question. Herrick would know it, too. He was stubborn and determined, but he was no fool, and never had been.
He thought suddenly of the young widow, Mrs. Boswell. Strange he had never pictured Herrick being married. But she was exactly right for him. She would not stand by and let others step on his good nature. She would never have allowed him to admit that he could not sustain the posting of flag captain.
Bolitho straightened his back and marvelled that he could even consider such things. He had two ships, and might never find
Lysander
at all. But whatever happened, he was about to penetrate the enemy's defences in a sea area which was almost unknown to him beyond his charts and available hints on navigation.
There was a tap at the door and the sentry called cautiously,
'Midshipman of the watch, sir
'
It was the red-headed Breen.
'Well, Mr. Breen?' Bolitho smiled at him. It was the first time he had spoken with him since being rescued by
Harebell.
'The captain sends his respects, sir. The lookout has reported a sail to the nor'-west. Too far off to recognise.'
'I see.'
Bolitho glanced at the chart. Even allowing for their drift and loss of way during the storm, they could not be that far out in their calculations.
Osiris's
beakhead was pointing approximately north-east, and with luck they would sight the highest range of hills to the southernmost end of Corfu before nightfall.
Buzz
ard
had run with the storm, and although Javal would be quick to rejoin the squadron, and might appear even today, he would come from the south and not the north-west where this newcomer had shown herself.
He asked, 'How d'you like being temporarily attached to
Osiris's
gunroom?'
The boy looked past him towards
Nicator's
tall outline some three cables astern.
'N-not much, sir. They treat me well enough, but
...'
Bolitho watched him gravely. Like the lieutenants, most of the midshipmen in this ship were of good family stock. Farquhar had evidently planned his wardroom and his midshipmen with great care. It was quite common for a captain to take a boy to sea as midshipman, the son of an old friend perhaps, or as some special favour. Farquhar appeared to have taken the custom right through his command.
Breen seemed to think he was expected to add something. 'I keep thinking about the seaman, sir, Larssen. But I'm all right now. I-I'm sorry about the way I acted.'
'Don't be. A sword must bend. If it is made too hard it will snap when it is most needed.'
He wondered why he was trying to save Breen from the inevitable. It came to all of them sooner or later. He recalled his own feelings after a sea fight when he had been a young lieutenant. The guns working so hard and the battle so fierce that there had been no time to treat the dead, even the wounded, with care or respect. The corpses had been pushed overboard from friend and enemy alike, and the wounded had added their cries to the thunder of battle. When the firing had ceased, and the ships had drifted apart, too damaged and hurt to claim victory or offer defeat, the sea had been covered with drifting corpses. Because the wind had dropped during the battle, as if cowed by its savagery, they were made to watch them for two whole days. It was something he often thought about and could never forget.
He said quietly, 'Have some ginger beer.'
Poor Breen, with his rough, scrubbed hands and grubby shirt, he was more a schoolboy than a King's officer. But who in his town or village had seen Malta ? Had been in a sea fight? And how many would ever know the full extent of naval power as it really was, and the men and timbers which made it ?
Farquhar appeared in the door and stared coldly at the boy with a glass in his fist. To Bolitho he said, 'That sail has sheered off, sir.' 'Not
Lysander
?'
'Too small.' Farquhar nodded curtly to Breen as he hurried away. 'Brig, according to the masthead lookout. A good man. He's usually right.'
Farquhar seemed much more controlled now that the storm had gone. A waiting game perhaps. Standing aside to see what Bolitho would do.
Bolitho walked to the open stern windows and leaned out above the small bubbling wash around the rudder. A good clear sky, and the horizon astern of
Nicator's
fat hull was hard and empty. The brig would see more of these two ships than they would of her.
'Tell the lookouts to take extra care. Send telescopes aloft, too.'
'You think the brig was French, sir?' Farquhar sounded curious. 'She can do
us
little harm.'
'Maybe. In Falmouth my sister's husband owns a large farm and estate.' He looked impassively at Farquhar. 'He also has a dog. Whenever a poacher or vagrant comes near his land, the dog tracks him, but never attacks or barks.' He smiled. 'Until the stranger is
within range of a fowling-piece
'
Farquhar stared at the chart, as if he expected to see something there.
'Following us, sir ?'
'It is possible. The French have many friends here. They would be willing and eager to pass information which might ease their lot once the tricolour has extended its "estates".'
Farquhar said uneasily, 'But supposing that is so, the French cannot know our full strength.'
"They will see we have no frigates. If I were a French admiral, that would be very valuable news indeed.' He walked to the door, an idea emerging from the back of his mind. 'Fetch your sailmaker, will you ?'
On the quarterdeck, several hands paused to watch him before returning to their work with added vigour. They probably thought him unhinged by the fever. Bolitho allowed the light wind to cool him and smiled to himself. He was still wearing his Spanish shirt, and had declined any of Farquhar's spare clothing. His own was still aboard
Lysander.
He would get it when he found Herrick.
And
find
him
he
would.
'Sir?' The sailmaker was at his side, watching him with a mixture of caution and interest.
'How much spare canvas do you have? That which is useless for making new sails and the like ?'
The man glanced nervously at Farquhar, who snapped,
'Tell
him, Parker!'
The sailmaker launched into a long list of stores and fragments, item by item, and Bolitho was impressed that he retained so much in his memory.
'Thank you, er, Parker.' He moved to the starboard gangway and stared along it towards the forecastle. 'I want a strip of canvas sewn and lashed along the gangway nettings on either side of the ship. Hammock cloths, unwanted scraps which you may have been keeping for repairing awnings and winds'ls.' He faced him calmly. 'Can you do that?'
"Well, that is, sir, I expect I could manage if
..
.' He looked at his captain for support.
Farquhar asked, 'For what purpose, sir? I think if this fellow knew what you required, and I, too, for that matter, it would help him.'
Bolitho smiled at them. 'If we join fo'c'sle to quarterdeck in this manner, then paint the canvas the same as the hull, with black squares at regular intervals,' he leaned over the rail to gesture at the eighteen-pounder gun ports, 'we can transform
Osiris
into a
three-decker,
eh?'
Farquhar shook his head. 'Damn me, sir, it would do the trick. At any sort of distance we'd look like a first-rate, and no mistake! The Frogs will begin to wonder just how many of us there are.'
Bolitho nodded. 'Inshore we may stand a chance. But we c
annot afford a pitched battl
e in open waters until we have discovered the enemy's real strength. I doubt that the French will have many ships of the line here. De Brueys will save them for the fleet and for protecting his transports. But I must know.'
'Deck
there!
Sail on the larboard quarter!'
Bolitho said, 'Our will-o'-the-wisp again. As soon as it is dusk we will begin the disguise. We can change tack during the night and maybe give our inquisitive friend the slip.'
Another hail made them look up. 'Deck there! Sail on the
lee
bow!'
'Company?' Bolitho prodded the sailmaker with his fist. 'Get your mates to work, Parker. You may be the first man in history to build a King's ship out of canvas scraps!'
He saw Pascoe hurrying up the weather shrouds to join the lookout who had made the last report. He was hampered by a large telescope slung over his shoulder, but ran up the ratlines with the ease of a cat.
Moments later he shouted, 'She's
the
Buzz
ard,
sir!'
Farquhar muttered, 'About time, too.'
Bolitho said, 'Make a signal to
Buzzard
.
Take station ahead of the squadron.'
Farquhar replied, 'She'll not be in signalling distance for quite a time, sir. She'll have to claw every inch of the way against the wind.'
- 'She cannot see the signal, Captain. But the other vessel
will.
Her master will know there is another, maybe several ships close by. It may give him something to chew on.'
Bolitho thrust his hands behind him, seeing the boatswain and some seamen already broaching the paint, while others dragged the canvas across the upper deck.
He began to pace slowly along the weather side, willing
Buzzard's
topsails to show themselves to him above the horizon.
Three ships now instead of two. He thanked God for Javal's determination to find him. Weak they may be. But they were no longer blind as well.
While
Osiris
and her consort continued at a snail's pace to the north-east, and Javal
worked the frigate through countl
ess zig2:ags to join them, the small blur of canvas which betrayed their follower was rarely out of sight.
All afternoon, as the sailmaker and his mates sat cross-legged on every spare piece of deck, heads bent, needles and palms flashing in the sunlight, Bolitho prowled about the poop or visited the cabin in a state of near exhaustion.
In the last dog watch, when
the lookout shouted, 'Land ho!’
, he guessed that the pursuing brig would be satisfied that the squadron, large or small, was indeed making for Corfu.
Bolitho examined the purple shadow of land through the rigging and shrouds, and pictured the island in his mind. The brig's master had been too faithful to his orders. Now, with night closing in more rapidly, he would have to bide his time and hold the information to himself. Under similar circumstances, Bolitho thought that he would have taken the risk of his admiral's displeasure and called off the chase long ago. He would have been more use t© his admiral alongside the flagship than riding out a long night off this dangerous coast. Curiosity had been the brig's weakness. It was not much, but it might be vital.
He returned to the cabin and found Farquhar waiting for him with Veitch and Plowman.
Farquhar said, 'You wanted these two,
I
believe, sir.' He sounded disdainful.
Bolitho waited as a servant hung another lantern above the chart.
'Now, Mr. Plowman. I need a good volunteer to spy out the land for me.'
The master's mate looked at the chart and the marks which denoted cliffs and deep soundings along the western shore.
He gave a slow grin. 'Aye, sir. I take your meanin'!'
Farquhar asked sharply, 'Are you sending men ashore
at
night,
sir?'
Bolitho did not reply directl
y. He looked at Plowman and asked simply, 'Can you do it ? If it was not important I would not ask.'
'I've tackled worse. Once in West Africa . . .' He sighed. 'But that's another story, sir.' 'Good.'
Bolitho studied him gravely. He was probably asking far too much. Sending Plowman and others to their deaths. He toyed with the idea of going himself but knew it would be pointless either way. Conceit, desperation, anxiety, none came into it. He would be needed
here,
and very soon.