Noon, said Hornblower. Thirteen hours start. Daring ll be at sea before we leave here.
And shes one of the fastest ships built, said Sharpe. She logged fifteen knots when she was being chased by Tenedos during the war.
Whats the Mexican port where shell take the soldiers on board?
Its only a village on a lagoon, Corpus Christi, My Lord. Five hundred miles and a fair wind.
Hornblower could picture the Daring, with her beautiful lines and enormous spread of canvas, booming along before the trade wind. The little Crab in whose cabin he stood was not intended for fast ocean runs. She had been built and rigged small and handy, to work in and out of obscure inlets, doing the police work of the West Indian archipelago. On the run to Corpus Christi Daring would certainly gain several hours, a day or more, perhaps, to add to the twelve hours lead she already enjoyed. It would not take long to march or to ferry five hundred disciplined men on board, and then she would sail again. Where? Hornblowers weary brain baulked at the contemplation of the immensely complex political situation in the lands within easy run of Corpus Christi. If he could guess, he might be able to anticipate Darings arrival at the danger point; if he merely pursued her to Corpus Christi he would almost certainly arrive there to find her already gone, soldiers and all, having vanished out into the trackless sea on whatever errand of mischief she meditated.
Daring s an American ship, My Lord, said Sharpe, to add to his troubles.
That was an important point, a very important point. Daring had an ostensibly legal errand, and she flew the Stars and Stripes. He could think of no excuse for taking her into port for examination. His instructions had been very strict regarding his treatment of the American flag. No more than nine years ago America had gone boldly to war against the greatest maritime power in the world on account of the Royal Navys attitude towards the American mercantile marine.
Shes armed, and shell be full of men, My Lord, said Gerard.
That was another important point, and a very positive point at that. With her twelve-pounders and five hundred disciplined soldiersand her large American crew as wellshe could laugh at anything Crab could threaten
with her six-pounders and her crew of sixteen. Daring would be within her rights to refuse to obey any signals from Crab, and Crab could do nothing to compel obedience. Shoot away a spar? Not so easy with a six-pounder, and even if no one were to be killed by accident there would be a terrible diplomatic storm if he were to fire on the Stars and Stripes. Could he shadow her, so at least to be on hand when her real purpose was revealed? No; impossible. Anywhere out at sea Daring had only to spread her wings to a fair wind to leave Crab below the horizon in an afternoon, and then Daring could resume her true course un-pursued.
Sweating in the stifling night, Hornblower felt like a lassoed wild animal. At every moment some fresh coil was being wound about him to render him more helpless. He was tempted, like a wild animal, to lose all self control, to lapse into mad panic, to fling away all his strength in an explosion of rage. He had sometimes seen, during his long professional career, senior officers giving vent to explosions of that sort. But it would not help. He looked round at the circle of faces in the lamplight; the faces wore the sober expressions of men who were witnessing a failure, men who were aware that they were in the presence of an Admiral who had made a woeful hash of the first important business he had encountered. That in itself could drive him insane with fury.
Pride came to help him. He would not sink to human weaknesses in the sight of these men.
I shall sail in any case, he said, coldly, as soon as I have a crew and a steam tug.
May I ask what Your Lordship intends to do? asked Sharpe.
Hornblower had to think quickly to make a reasonable answer to this question; he had no idea. All he knew was that he was not going to give up without a struggle; no crisis was ever alleviated by wasting time.
I shall employ what time I have here in the composition of orders for my squadron, he said. My flag-lieutenant will write them at my dictation, and I shall ask you, Mr. Sharpe, to undertake the distribution of them by all the means you find available.
Very good, My Lord.
Hornblower remembered at that moment something he should have done already. It was not too late; this part of his duty he must still carry out. And it would at least disguise the anguish he felt.
Mr. Harcourt, he said. I have to commend you greatly on the excellent way in which you executed my orders. You carried out the task of observing Daring in most exemplary fashion. You can be sure I shall call the attention of Their Lordships to your behaviour.
Thank you, My Lord.
And this man Jones, went on Hornblower. No seaman could have acted with more intelligence. You made a good selection, Mr. Harcourt, and Jones justified it. I have it in mind to reward him. I can give him an acting rating and confirm it as soon as possible.