Ramage Read Online Free PDF Page A

including many of the wounded, were listening.
    ‘Fine – the old bitch will swim a lot longer yet. There’ll be no need for anyone to get their feet wet.’
    Brave talk; but these poor devils need some reassurance. He glanced across at the Barras . Does her captain realize the Sibella isn’t under control? With his telescope he can see the shattered wheel, and guess that if she could be manoeuvred her officers would have already tried to wear round in an attempt to escape.
    ‘Bosun, as soon as the last wounded man is on deck, muster the unwounded here. I want a couple of dozen axes as well. By the way, who was the signal midshipman?’
    ‘Mr Scott.’
    ‘Have some hands look for his body and find the signal book. None of us leaves the ship until it’s found, and you can tell the men that.’
    The American cox’n, Jackson, came up to him, holding a canvas sea bag.
    ‘All the Master’s charts and sailing directions, the log book, and muster book, which I found in the Purser’s cabin, sir.’
    Ramage gave him the documents from the cabin, with the exception of the Admiral’s orders. ‘Put these in the bag. Men are looking for the signal book. Take charge of it when it’s found. Now find me a cutlass.’
    ‘The signal book, sir,’ said a seaman, holding out a slim and blood-sodden volume.
    ‘I’ll take it,’ said Jackson, and put it in the bag.
    Ramage glanced across once again at the Barras . There was not much time left.
    ‘Bosun! Those axes?’
    ‘Ready, sir.’
    Jackson came back, a couple of cutlasses under one arm. ‘You’ll be needing this, sir,’ he said, handing him a speaking trumpet. The bloody man thought of everything. Ramage walked aft and scrambled up on to the hammocks along the top of the bulwark. Let’s hope the French don’t open fire now, he thought grimly. He put the speaking trumpet on his lips.
    ‘Listen carefully, you men, and don’t be afraid to ask about anything you don’t understand. If you carry out my orders to the letter we can get away in the boats. We can’t help the wounded: for their sakes we must leave them for the French surgeon to look after.
    ‘We’ve got four boats that can still swim. From the moment I give the word you’ll have only two or three minutes to get into those boats and pull like the devil.’
    ‘Excuse me, sir, but how can we stop the ship to get into the boats?’ asked the Bosun.
    ‘You’ll see in a moment. Now, the Frenchman out there.’ He gestured with his hand. ‘He’s converging on us. In eight or ten minutes he’ll be almost alongside, ready to board. And we can’t stop him.’
    At that moment the ship gave a lurch, reminding him of the water still flooding in below.
    ‘If we haul down our flag, obviously we won’t get away in the boats. So we’ve got to fool him to gain time. If we wait until he’s almost alongside, then suddenly stop the ship, he’ll probably be taken by surprise and sail on past us. But we’ve got to do it so quickly he doesn’t get a chance to open fire. Before he has time to wear round again we’ve got away in the boats – after putting the ensign halyard in the hands of one of the wounded, so he can surrender the ship!’
    ‘Beggin’ your pardon, sir, but ’ow can we stop the ship?’ a Marine asked.
    ‘There’s only one way: drop something over the side so that it acts as an anchor. And to make absolutely certain the French don’t have time to fire we want to turn hard a’port at the same time. In soldiers’ language,’ he said to the Marine, ‘we “left wheel” while Johnny Frenchman marches on ahead.’
    ‘What do we drop over the side, sir?’ the same Marine asked gloomily, as though he’d heard it all before and knew it would not work. He sucked his teeth, as if they were all he had left to relish.
    ‘We stop the ship like this,’ said Ramage, restraining a sudden urge to shake the man and wishing he hadn’t given permission for them to ask questions. He spoke slowly and