Ramage & the Saracens Read Online Free PDF Page A

ours.”
    â€œOur number’s up, ain’t it, Jacko?” Stafford commented, his voice flat and unemotional.
    â€œI reckon so,” Jackson said, turning back to the gun.
    Rossi had overheard the conversation. “Is not Mr Ramage’s fault,” he said defensively. “Is hard to see the colours of a ship coming directly like that.”
    â€œQuite right, Rosey,” Jackson said calmly. “Just ‘cos we beat ‘em at Trafalgar, we thought we’d driven them from the sea. Where these two came from I don’t know. Egypt, I suppose.”
    â€œWe ram, you think?”
    â€œHer jib-boom and bowsprit are where she’s vulnerable,” Jackson said, “and it looks as though that’s where Mr Ramage is heading. Our only chance of disabling her.”
    â€œWhat about the other ship?” Louis asked.
    â€œShe’ll have to tow this one all the way to Toulon, unless they can manage a jury-rig.”
    Louis shook his head regretfully. “Pity we can’t disable both of them.”
    â€œNo miracles in the Mediterranean,” Jackson said. “You chaps haven’t been saying your prayers.” He walked quickly to the gun port again and peered forward. “You have about a minute to say them now,” he said, “then there’s going to be an almighty bang.”

CHAPTER TWO
    R AMAGE narrowed his eyes in concentration. Yes, the
Calypso
would hit the French ship exactly where—no, damnation, she’d pass too far ahead. He blinked and then blinked again. Much too far ahead. What on earth was happening? The men at the wheel hadn’t moved it a spoke and a quick glance at the luffs of the sails showed the wind hadn’t changed. Nevertheless, the
Calypso
was now going to pass too far ahead of the Frenchman.
    Suddenly he realized that the gap between the French ship’s masts was widening. Damn, damn, she was altering course: she was turning to larboard: her captain must have guessed what Ramage intended doing, and he was turning violently to avoid a collision. And there was no way Ramage could get the
Calypso
two—no, three—points to windward. Nor was there time to tack across the Frenchman’s bow. Instead he would receive her full starboard broadside in a matter of moments. Just then the first of the
Calypso
’s guns fired as the Frenchman began to swing past the starboard side.
    But the Frenchman did not fire back. Why? Ramage realized that she would have been manning her larboard side guns: the sudden swing round was made before guns’ crews could run across the ship to the other side.
    He turned to keep her in view and out of the corner of his eye he saw the second ship, much closer than he expected. She was staying on the same course as before but the first ship was heading straight for her.
    Had the first ship’s captain not realized the danger? They were trimming her yards as if she was the only ship at sea, and as she came round on to a broad reach, all her sails bulging under the weight of the wind, she increased speed: this was her fastest point of sailing.
    She was now on almost an opposite course to the
Calypso
and heading straight for her consort. Ramage gave a gasp: a collision was inevitable, and he gripped the capping on the rail at the forward end of the quarterdeck.
    As he watched, the first ship’s sails began to flutter as men let fly the sheets and braces in what was obviously a desperate last-minute attempt to get the way off the ship but by now, as the sound of the slatting canvas carried across to the frigate, the two ships were only twenty yards apart …
    Already, Ramage could see that the jib-boom and bowsprit that he had been aiming for was now pointing at the main shrouds of the second ship and in a few moments would catch them as though the ship was a lancer lunging at a passing bush.
    Southwick’s exclamation of “Ye gods!” was overlaid with Aitken’s