THE INSHORE SQUADRON

6. Quickley done

Bolitho felt his eyes smarting painfully as a freak breeze brought some of the gunsmoke down across the quarterdeck. He watched the guns hurling themselves inboard on their tackles, the fiery orange tongues ripping through the swirling snow, his ears half-deafened by the noise. Then the quarterdeck six-pounders added their sharper notes, the balls falling short or beyond the other, ship, some even hitting her.

Like madmen the crews were already sponging out their weapons, ramming home fresh charges and balls before throwing their weight on the tackles once again.

And still the French captain had failed to fire a single shot in reply.

The hands of the gun captains were raised in a ragged line, and the first lieutenant yelled, `Stand by! Fire!'

Bolitho shaded his eyes to watch the dense smoke being driven downwind towards the other ship. They were on a converging tack, the slightly heavier Ajax spreading even her topgallants to fight her way into more open water.

There was a cheer as the Ajax 's topsails danced and shook to the onslaught, the wind exploring the shot holes and ripping the maincourse apart like an old sack.

Then the enemy replied. At a range of perhaps a cable, the broadside was ill-timed and badly aimed, but Bolitho felt the iron smashing into the Styx 's hull, and a stray ball striking further aft beneath his feet. The deck rebounded as if being struck by a great hammer, but Neale's gun crews did not even seem to notice.

'Stop your vents! Sponge out! Load!'

All the drills, the training and the threats had paid off. `Run out!'

The smoke writhed between the two ships, its heart bright with red and orange as if it contained life of its own. Then the balls crashed into the Styx 's side once more even as she returned the broadside.

Bolitho saw one gun overturned, some of its crew writhing across the deck, leaving patterns of scarlet to mark their agony. Holes appeared in the sails, and Bolitho heard a ball tear above the quarterdeck within feet of where he stood.

Neale was pacing back and forth, watching the helm, the sails, his gun crews, everything.

'Fire!'

Whooping and yelling the men threw themselves on their guns again, barely pausing to see where their shots had gone before they reloaded.

Bolitho walked aft, his feet slipping on slush as he raised his telescope to seek out the other man-of-war. She was still at anchor but her decks were crammed with sailors. But she was not making sail or even running out her artillery, and as he moved the glass further he saw the blue and white flag of Russia. The Tsar wished more than anything else to be a respected friend and ally of Napoleon. His captain obviously thought differently, probably still stunned by the ferocity of Styx 's attack.

A ball slammed through the nettings behind him and he heard a chorus of cries and shrieks. The line of marines, who had been training their muskets over' the tightly packed hammocks in readiness to engage, had been parted by bloody confusion. Men crawled and staggered through the smoke, and two were smashed to bloody gruel on the opposite side.

Their sergeant was yelling, `Stand fast, marines! Face yer front!'

The marine lieutenant was sitting with back to the bulwark, his face in his hands, his fingers the same colour as his coat.

Neale shouted, `The Frenchman has recovered his wits, sir! He'll try using chain-shot presently!'

Bolitho stared quickly around. It had been only minutes, yet felt an eternity. The cluster of English merchantmen were as before, but small figures dashed along their yards and gangways, cheering or calling for aid, it was impossible to tell.

Neale saw his glance and suggested, 'I'll send the quarter boat, sir! Those poor devils may have no officers to help them escape.'

Bolitho nodded, and as men rushed aft to the quarter boat he said to Browne, 'You go.' He clapped him on the shoulder, expecting him to be as relaxed as he looked. But his shoulder was like a carriage spring, and he added quietly, `Captain Neale has enough to contend with.'

Browne licked his lips and winced as more enemy shots crashed into the side, throwing up cruel splinters, one opening a man's arm and hurling him to the deck.

Then he said, `Very well, sir.' He forced a smile. `I shall have a fine view!'

Moments later the boat was pulling lustily towards the merchant ships. Somebody had even had the presence of mind to hoist a British ensign above the transom.

The Ajax was moving closer, her gunports flashing fire at regular intervals. But the wind was holding her over, and many of her balls shrieked above the Styx 's gangway, bringing down oddments of cordage and severed blocks like dead fruit.

Bolitho looked along the gundeck, seeing Pascoe's white breeches faintly through the smoke and snow as he directed the. forward guns towards the enemy.

The broadsides were getting more ragged, the men too dazed by the din and thunder of battle to keep up their original timing.

Some lay dead or badly injured, others tried to drag them clear of the recoiling cannon, their faces masks of determination and shock.

There came a wild chorus of yells from the forecastle, and Bolitho saw the Frenchman's foremast part like a carrot, the upper spars and yards, complete with thrashing canvas and rigging and not a few men, plunged across her forecastle. Even through the roar of battle they heard it, like a cliff falling,. and the effect was instantaneous. As most of the topmast staggered over the side, trailing broken shrouds like black weed behind it, the frigate swung drunkenly into the wind, the wreckage acting as a giant sea-anchor.

Neale cupped his hands, his sword dangling from his wrist, as he yelled, `Full broadside, Mr Pickthorn! Double-shotted with grape for good measure!'

Wallowing helplessly while her seamen tried to hack the trailing wreckage away, the Ajax drifted end-on towards Neale's battery. There was no fear of the double-shotting splitting the breeches now, Bolitho thought. The guns were so overheated that he could feel the nearest one like an open furnace.

He saw one old gun captain cradling each shot in his hard hands before allowing it to be rammed home. It had to be perfect this time.

Neale clambered up into the lee shrouds and snatched his first lieutenant's speaking trumpet to shout, `Strike your colours! Surrender!' He sounded almost as if he were pleading. But the only answer was a volley of musket shots, one of which clanged against his sword like a bell.

He climbed down to the deck, his eyes bleak as he stared at the raised fists of his gun captains.

'So be it then.' He looked at his first lieutenant and gave a curt nod.

The broadside, which thundered with mounting fury from bow to stern, gun by gun, as the Styx sailed slowly past the enemy's figurehead, was terrible to see. Wreckage flew high in the air and the mainmast fell in a great swooping crash to join the other broken spars alongside. Bolitho thought he saw the frigate drop her bows under the murderous weight of iron, and he saw a young midshipman biting the sleeve of his coat with horror as long tendrils of blood ran from the Ajax 's scuppers, as if she and not her people were dying.

A master's mate shouted, `The merchantmen are weighing, sir.' He sounded beyond understanding, past belief.

Bolitho nodded, still watching the beaten frigate. Vanquished in battle, but her tricolour was still flying, and he knew from hard experience that she at least would live to fight again.

He guessed that Neale and many of his men still had fire enough to try and seize the Ajax as a prize. But they had done plenty, and far more than he had dared hope. To go further, and flaunt the authority of the Swedish commandant and the one-sided neutrality of a Russian warship, would be pushing the odds too far.

He looked instead at the merchantmen. There were six in all, their sailors busily spreading more sails and trying to avoid collision with one another as they steered towards the small frigate which flew four flags for all to see.

Neale wiped his smoke-grimed features and said, 'Your flag lieutenant will not be the same again, I fear, sir.' He sighed as a wounded man was carried past. 'Nor any of us, for that matter.'

He turned to watch the nearest merchantman passing abeam, her larboard gangway alive with cheering men.

He added dryly, `We did what we came to do, sir. I think it only fair we borrow a few of their prime seamen? The least they can do to show their gratitude!'

Pascoe came aft and touched his hat. He waited for Neale to walk away to deal with the countless problems left behind by the fight, then said, 'That was quickly done, sir!'

Bolitho rested one hand on his shoulder. 'Barely twenty minutes. I can scarce believe it. Captain Neale is a fine seaman.'

Pascoe did not look at him, but his mouth twitched in a smile.

`I believe he learned a lot in his first ship, Uncle?'

Mr Charles Inskip strode back and forth through the highceilinged room as if it were no longer big enough to contain him. Even his wig, which he had donned to lend dignity to his authority, was knocked awry with his agitation.

`God damn it, Bolitho, what am I to do about you?' He did not wait for a reply. 'You abuse the Danish neutrality and slink off in the night with some cock-and-bull scheme for a cuttingout expedition, and now you are back here in Cophenagen! You do not even have the sense to stay away!'

Bolitho waited for the squall to pass. He could sympathize with Inskip's unwelcome role here, but he had no regrets about the released ships. By now they would be passing through the narrows and out into the North Sea. To have left them in the Tsar's hands, to be handed possibly to the French as some kind of gift or bribe, was unthinkable. It would have been even more cruel to leave their luckless crews to rot in some prison camp or freeze to death in alien surroundings.

He said impassively, 'It was the least I could do, sir. The merchantmen have no cause to fear attack from the Danes. They were wrongly seized, much as the Danish ships were impounded by us this year. But if I had not anchored here again, had trailed my coat instead beneath the shore batteries of the Sound Channel, I would have provoked a disaster.'

He thought suddenly of the passage back. No one had had time to precede them and yet rumour had outpaced everything.' The waterfront had been packed with silent townspeople, in spite of the bitter cold, and later, when permission had been granted by the port admiral to carry out repairs and to carry the dead ashore for burial, something like a great sigh had gone up from the watchers.

Inskip did not seem to hear him. 'I might have expected such action from one of your captains. But the flag officer of a squadron, indeed not! Just by being there you represented your King and Parliament.'

`You mean that a mere captain could be dismissed, court martialled, if things went against him, sir?'

Inskip paused in his agitated pacing and said, `Well? You know the risks as well as the rewards for command!'

Bolitho knew he was getting nowhere and said, `Anyway, I should like to send word to my flag captain, if that is possible. I told him I might be away from the squadron for a week at the most. It is that now.'

Inskip glared at him. 'Oh dammit, Bolitho. I did not say you could not achieve what you set out to do. It was your method I doubted.' He gave a wry grin. `I have already sent a message to your squadron.' He shook his head. `I cannot imagine what they will say in Parliament, or here in the Palace, but I'd have given a lot to see you free our merchantmen! My aide has already spoken with your Captain Neale. That young man told him that the Styx dished up the enemy in no more than twenty minutes!'

Bolitho recalled Herrick's comment. Men, not ships, win battles.

'True, sir. It was the fastest frigate action I have yet witnessed.'

Inskip regarded him calmly. 'I suggest you were more than a mere witness.' He crossed to the window and peered at the square below. 'The snow has stopped.' Almost off-handedly he added, `You must prepare yourself to meet the Adjutant General while you are here. Possibly this evening. In the meantime you will remain as my guest.'

`'And the ship, sir?'

'I am assured she will be allowed to leave when temporary repairs are completed. But…' the word hung in the air as he turned to face Bolitho, 'your stay will be rather more permanent if the Danes request me to hand you over to them.'

He rubbed his hands as an elegant footman entered with a tray and said, `But for now we will toast your, er, victory, eh?'

Later, when he had been joined by Lieutenant Browne, Bolitho dictated a full report of his discovery and the action against the French frigate. He would leave higher authority to draw its own conclusions about the rights and wrongs of it.

By permitting the French ship to interfere with seized merchantmen within Swedish waters, and in the presence of one ofthe Tsar's own vessels, it would be a hard knot to untangle; he thought.

He sat back and watched Browne's face. `Have I forgotten anything?'

Browne eyed him for several seconds. 'I believe, sir, that the less you put on paper the better. I had time to think while I was boarding the merchantmen, time to place myself in a position where I would have to act instead of suggest. You won a battle, nothing to change the face of the world, but the very sort to give heart to the people at home. They hate to see ordinary folk like themselves put upon and humiliated by some foreign power. But others may not be so kindly towards you, sir.'

Bolitho smiled gravely. 'Go on, Browne, you have my full attention.'

Browne said, 'Admiral Sir Samuel Damerum, sir. He will not be pleased. It might make him look a fool to some, a man who lacks the courage to fight for small causes as well as great ones.' He gave a smile, as if he had gone too far. 'As I said, sir, I have had time to change places with the mighty while I have been away. Frankly, I am glad to be a lieutenant, especially a privileged one.'

Bolitho rubbed his chin and glanced at the presentation sword which was lying on a chair. Even the omen had been false. He had been right to act, and though Neale had lost ten men killed it had been worth it. As Browne had pointed out, it was no great panorama of battle, but it would put a small edge to their pride and show that, even standing alone, England would not hesitate to act for her own people.

An hour later he was in a carriage with Inskip being driven to the Palace.

It was late and the streets almost empty. More like the setting for an assassination than an enquiry, he thought. Allday had pleaded to come with him, but Inskip had been adamant.

`Just you, Bolitho. That is an order.' He had been unable to resist adding, 'Even you should find this one difficult to mould to suit your requirements!'

Through some gates and then the carriage halted by a narrow side entrance.

Stamping snow from their shoes they were ushered through several doors and into another world. A fairyland of glittering chandeliers and great paintings along the_ walls. Sounds of music and feminine voices, – a place of power and absolute comfort.

But that was as near as they got. They were shown into a small but beautifully decorated room with a blazing fire and walls completely lined with books.

One man was waiting for them. He was elegant like the room, and beautifully clothed in blue velvet. He had heavy gold cuffs which all but reached his elbows, and had the air of a man who never acted hastily or without dignity.

He studied Bolitho thoughtfully, his face almost in shadow. Then he said, `The Adjutant General is not able to be here. He has gone to the mainland.' He spoke with barely an accent, his tone almost caressing in the warm room.

Then he continued, 'I will deal with this matter, RearAdmiral Bolitho. As his aide I am well versed in the whole affair.'

Inskip started to speak. `The fact is, sir, that…'

One hand moved up, like a priest about to offer a blessing, and Inskip fell silent.

`Now, let me say this. You saved those six English ships by your action. In their turn they saved you by being there. Had you attacked a French vessel in Scandinavian waters, no matter upon what ideal, neither you nor your ship would have reached England again, be certain of that. Your war is with France, not with us. But we must exist in a world turned upside down by London and Paris, and we shall have no hesitation about drawing our swords to protect what we hold dear.' His voice softened. 'That is not to say I do not understand, Admiral. I do, better than you realize perhaps.'

Bolitho said, 'Thank you for, your understanding, sir. We are an island race. For a thousand years we have had to defend ourselves against attackers. People at war too often forget the rest, and for that I apologize, sir.'

The man turned to the fire, saying gently, 'I think my own

people invaded your country a few times in the past?'

Bolitho smiled. 'Aye, sir. They still say that the girls on the

north-east coast got their flaxen hair from the Viking invaders!' Inskip cleared hs throat nervously. 'In that case, sir, may I

take Rear-Admiral Bolitho with me?'

'Please do.' He did not offer his hand. 'I wanted to meet you. To see what sort of man you are.' He gave a brief nod. 'I hope that if we meet again it will be under happier circumstances.'

Bolitho followed Inskip and two footmen down the same passageway, his mind still in a whirl.

He said, 'I believe I might have fared worse with his superior. I think this one just wanted me out of his country.'

Inskip took his cloak from a footman and waited for the cold air to greet him through. the open door.

'Quite possibly, Bolitho.' He glanced at him wryly. 'That was the Crown Prince himself!' He shook his head and walked towards the carriage. 'Really, Bolitho, you've such a lot to learn!'

Captain Neale entered the cabin, his hat tucked beneath one arm.

'I thought you would wish to know, sir. We have cleared the Sound and are standing into the Kattegat.' He looked both tired and elated as he added, 'Our escorts have gone about and left us.'

Bolitho stood up and walked aft to the windows. The snow had completely dispersed and the water looked hard grey and uninviting. The Danes had taken no' chances. The Styx had been followed by two frigates from the moment she had weighed, and wlien Bolitho had been driven down to the jetty he had seen soldiers manning the artillery near the fortress. Not a threat. A warning perhaps.

'Thank you.'

Bolitho listened to the doleful clank of pumps, the muffled sounds of hammers and saws as•the ship's company continued with the repairs of the short, savage engagement.

It would mean that Styx would have to be sent to England where she could carry out a proper and more lasting overhaul. She had earned it, as had her whole company.

He said, 'I shall feel at a loss aboard my flagship again. Like a horse in a larger field!' He became serious. 'I have completed a full report for you to carry to England. Your part in it will reach the proper authority.'

Neale smiled. 'Thank you, sir.'

'And now, I'll leave you in peace to run your command as you will and carry me to the squadron as quickly as possible.'

Neale began to withdraw, then said, 'My first lieutenant is very pleased with the new hands that he took from the merchantmen, sir. All prime seamen, although at this moment they seem uncertain what is happening, or whether they have exchanged one hell for another.'

The following morning, as Bolitho was finishing his breakfast, one which Ozzard described as more fitting for a prisoner of war, Neale came down to report that his lookouts had sighted a sail, confirmed almost immediately as the frigate Relentless.

Almost before she had topped the horizon the Relentless was hoisting signals to be seen and repeated by the sloop-of-war Lookout to the remainder of the squadron.

Bolitho could imagine their feelings. Herrick's patrols would have sighted the released merchantmen, and what he had not discovered from them he would have guessed.

A first blood for the new squadron. Something to brag about when the weather got a man down and the food was too vile even to discuss.

Later when Bolitho went on deck he noticed that Allday had preceded him with his sea-chest, as if he too was more than eager to be getting back to the Benbow.

He saw Pascoe and the small midshipman, Penels, standing on the larboard gangway pointing towards the ships, and then as the anchored squadron hove slowly into view he saw him turn and look aft, his expression puzzled.

Neale said, 'Hand me a glass.' He trained it beyond the other frigate as she went gracefully about and steered back towards the squadron. 'Captain Herrick is prepared to weigh, it seems.' He handed the glass to Bolitho and watched his reactions.

Bolitho levelled the telescope on the Benbow's shining hull as she swung tightly to her cable. Neale was right. The sails were loosely brailed up and not furled neatly as he might have expected. The cable was all but hove short, as were those of the other two-deckers. He felt suddenly uneasy but said as calmly as he could, 'We must be patient.'

Neale nodded doubtfully and then called, 'Get the royals on her, Mr Pickthorn! We are in a hurry this morning!'

The Benbow's signal midshipman lowered his telescope and reported, 'The squadron has weighed, sir!'

Bolitho gripped the hammock nettings and watched first one and then the next ship heeling over to the wind, sails filling and emptying until they had completed their manoeuvre. Wolfe, the first lieutenant, was doing most of the work on the quarterdeck, which was not Herrick's_way at all, and gave some hint of his anxiety.

It had been barely fifteen minutes since Bolitho had clambered through the entry port, fifteen minutes of bustle and outward confusion while the seamen had dashed out on the yards or hauled at halliards and braces as if they had been timed to act at the very moment of his appearance.

In between his many duties, Herrick had said, 'A courier brig came from the Nore, sir. Her commander had despatches for Admiral Damerum, but of course his squadron had already gone its different ways.' Some of his anxiety had left his face as he had added thankfully, 'By God, it is good to have you back, sir. I was at my wits' end as to what course to take.'

Piece by piece, in between exasperating delays while Herrick ordered a change of tack or the reduction of sail while the squadron formed into line astern, Bolitho discovered what had happened, He did not once interrupt or hurry Herrick. He wanted it in his own words and not in some carefully prepared oration for his benefit.

One fact stood out above all else. A French squadron had broken out of Brest and had vanished into the blue. It was known to be under the flag of Vice-Amiral Alfred Ropars, an experienced and daring officer. He had taken advantage of the terrible weather, but more than that, he had sent out two of his frigates under cover of darkness to attack and seize the only British patrol which was close enough inshore to see what was happening. Bolitho thought of Inskip's views on a captain's authority and value. The commander of the captured frigate would lose everything. His previous successes, his whole career would be sacrificed to wipe the slate clean.

But Bolitho knew how easily it could happen. Back and forth, up and down, in every sort of sea and wind, the weather-beaten ships of the blockading squadrons often became over-confident, too certain that the French would be sensible enough to stay in port rather than risk a fight.

Ropars must have timed it well. With the patrol captured, his own heavier ships were out and away before dawn.

The courier brig's information was scanty but for one thing. Ropars had sailed north. Not west to the Caribbean or south to the Mediterranean, but north.

Herrick said despairingly, 'With Admiral Damerum relieved by our smaller squadron, sir, and you away, as I thought, in Copenhagen, I was split in halves. The Admiralty thinks Ropars has sailed to assist an invasion and uprising in Ireland. Our fleet is so thinly spread, it might be a good moment to try.'

Bolitho nodded, his mind busy. 'Five years ago, when I was Sir Charles Thelwall's flag captain in Euryalus, I saw enough misery on that station. The French tried it then. They just might make another attempt, Thomas.'

Herrick shaded his eyes to squint up at the topgallant yards where some seamen were clinging on with hands and feet as the sails ballooned violently to the wind.'

He said, 'But I decided I could do no useful thing by running for Ireland, sir. We have too few ships.' He looked Bolitho straight in the eyes. 'In any case, sir, you are my flag officer.'

Bolitho smiled. With him in Copenhagen it must have been a hard decision for Herrick. If he had decided wrongly his head would be on the block with his admiral's, loyalty or not.

But he said warmly, `That was well said, Thomas. I'll see you with your own broad pendant before long, mark my words.'

Herrick grimaced. 'I'd not thank you for it, sir!'

He shifted his feet and said, 'The French admiral's strength is a squadron, no more. That we do know. And I'll wager every ship from the Channel Fleet is prowling the enemy's ports in case they try to reinforce this Ropars.'

Bolitho released his grip from the nettings. It did not take long to get used to the change of motion. From the wild plunges of a frigate to the slow, ponderous tilt of a ship of the line.

`Well, Thomas? I'm waiting.'

Herrick bit his lip, as if wishing he had remained silent.

'I heard what you did in the Baltic. I questioned the master of one of the merchantmen you set free. It was a fine piece of work, sir, with just the Styx to carry it out.'

Bolitho looked at the grey sea alongside, willing Herrick to get on with it, but equally afraid to break the thread of his ideas.

'I think it unlike the Frogs to send one frigate for that task, sir. They would know your squadron would prevent any attempt to escort the merchantmen to France.' He spread his hands. 'And for the life of me I can see no other reason for their actions!'

Bolitho stared at him. Time and distance, Thomas, is that it?'

Herrick nodded. `Aye, sir. I believe that the Frogs intended to draw our squadron to the west to assist the Channel Fleet and to cut Ropars retreat if his attack on Ireland failed.'

Bolitho gripped his arm. `And all the while Ropars is really sailing further north, around Scotland maybe, and then down the coast of Norway, is that what you believe?'

Herrick licked his lips. `Well, er, yes, sir. They'll come south.' He looked at the hazy outline of the Danish Coast. 'To here.'

'Where they hope to find the back door open for them, eh?' It was so simple it had to be wrong.

Bolitho said, 'Signal the squadron to steer west, Thomas, with Relentless and Lookout as far in the lead as possible without losing visual contact. When you are satisfied with them, come aft and bring the master with you. We'll study the charts and share our ideas.'

Herrick looked at him, less certain now.

'I may be quite wrong, sir. Is it worth the risk?'

'If we fight here, we will be on the lee shore. No, we shall meet them in open water, if at all. Cripple some and send the rest running. I have heard of Admiral Ropars, Thomas. This is just the sort of thing he would attempt.'

Herrick said ruefully, 'A bit like you then, sir?'

`Not too much, I hope. Otherwise he may be outguessing us already!'

Bolitho made his way aft to his quarters, past the rigid marine sentry, and then ducked automatically as if he was still aboard the frigate.

For a while he moved restlessly about the cabin, thinking of all that had happened in so short a time. The fragment of chance when Lookout had taken the French brig Echo. Their arrival in Copenhagen, the attack through the snowstorm, men dying, others cheering.

He heard cheering now, as if his thoughts had come to life, but when he peered through the stern windows he saw the frigate Styx dose-hauled under a full pyramid of canvas and

steering past the slower moving two-deckers. The squadron was cheering one of its own. A scarred victor, going home for repairs and perhaps a hero's welcome.

Allday entered the cabin and replaced the presentation sword on its rack below the other one.

He said, 'I was a mite worried back there, sir. Just for a while.'

Bolitho shrugged. 'Fate is a strange thing.'

Allday grinned, obviously relieved. `The folk in Falmouth would have been caught aback if you'd broken it, and that's no error, sir!'

Bolitho sat down, suddenly tired. 'Fetch me something to drink, if you please.' Then he smiled gravely. 'And let us both stop pretending, shall we?'