Ramage And The Rebels

Re

'Burns at the rate of two feet a minute, sir,' Re

The guns?' Ramage asked.

'I finally triple - shotted them on the starboard side - those which will point at the Delft. Those on the larboard side facing us are triple - charged without shot, and the breechings are cut, so when they go off they'll recoil right across the ship.'

'You still have the port fires to arrange?'

'Yes, sir, I thought I'd set them on deck near the wheel. It'll help us see what we're doing for the last minute or two.'

'And that brandy?'

'Southwick has stowed the casks on deck along the starboard side, forward. I have a Marine sentry guarding it. We were lucky to get it on board without a cask being "accidentally" stove in.'

Ramage nodded. The purser's glad to see the back of it He's been worried ever since he found it.'

On deck Ramage shivered as he considered the Nuestra Senora de Antigua as a furnace: pitch and tar with frayed rope, old sails and smashed - up gratings to start a fire, brandy to increase it and finally powder to scatter it - and the schooner - over the Delft. The grapnels should catch in the Delft's rigging and hold the Nuestra Senora to her long enough for a fatal and fiery embrace.

The men who sailed the schooner, setting fire to her at the last moment as she crashed alongside the Delft, would have to take their chance in the water, leaping over the side and swimming, and hoping that the baulks of timber hurled into the air by the explosions did not land on their heads. The Calypso's boats should approach from the side away from the Delft and pick them up, providing that flying wreckage and sharks had left anything to save.

Southwick bustled up and said conversationally: 'It's going to take some good timing to shoot up into the wind so that she carries her way and gets alongside the Delft, sir.'

'I've been thinking about that'

'Not above half a mile to get the canvas drawing well and plenty of way on her.'

'A little over half a mile.'

'Doesn't give you much time to get the feel of the ship, and you'll have to start lighting her up below before you're actually alongside, or else there's a chance the Dutchmen will get on board or cut away the grapnels - or if the chain beats 'em, the rigging from which they're hanging.'

True,' Ramage said patiently.

'And an unlucky shot through that brandy wont help either. They'll be firing at you, of course.'

'I hadn't anticipated them pelting me with flowers, but their broadside guns won't bear until almost the last moment'

'Musketry, though,' Southwick said gloomily. There'll be plenty of that; musket balls falling like rain. You'll need spare men ready to take over at the tiller, because the Dutch will be aiming at them.'

'Look,' Ramage said finally, 'I've made up my mind. I am taking the Nuestra Senora alongside, and you are staying on board the Calypso. And I don't want to hear that sad story again of how you missed the chase across the island. If you could have run a mile you'd have been welcome. If you can swim a mile you can come with the Nuestra Senora.' 'Don't need to swim a mile, begging your pardon.'

'You couldn't swim a hundred yards, so let's have no more arguing.'

'But you are taking Jackson, aren't you, sir?'

'Jackson, Stafford, Rossi, Baker - hell take over command if anything happens to me - Re

'I wish you'd tow a boat, sir, so you can be sure of escaping.'

'We've gone over that,' Ramage said impatiently. The painter will get foul of the rudder or some such thing: and a boat rowing away would make a fine target for Dutch muskets in the light of the flames. They'll never see swimmers and even if they did they'd never hit them.'

'Well, you know what you're doing, sir,' Southwick said in a voice which implied just the opposite.

Thank you,' Ramage said stiffly. 'If you'll learn to swim and lose two stone in weight, you can command all the fire - ships you want'

By half past two the Nuestra Senora de Antigua was ready, Jackson and Stafford stood at the big curved tiller and Ramage waited close by with Baker. Down below Re

There had been no sign of Dutch guard boats; they were obviously relying on lookouts on board. What was that captain expecting? Did he anticipate an attack by 'English'? He would expect a battle of broadsides, and perhaps an attempt to board. He knew there was little chance of the Calypso weighing and trying to get alongside because the cha

There were groups of men at both the Nuestra Senora's masts, ready to haul on halyards to hoist the great mainsail, foresail, forestaysail and jib. There were a couple more head - sails that could be hoisted, but they would take time and meant only more sheets to be trimmed, more ropes to get snagged; trying to free a headsail because of a jammed sheet was a distraction he was anxious to avoid. As it was, the sheets had been led round so that the headsails would be hoisted backed, so that the schooner's bow began to pay off to starboard as the anchor cable was cut, ensuring she was on the right tack and would not have to go about Two men waited at the bitts with axes, ready to cut the anchor cable. Re