Giles! shouted Hornblower.
Giles reappeared, and within the wide discretion of a spoiled servant displayed shocked disapproval at the sight of him still in his wet shirt and ducks.
My compliments to Mr. Harcourt, and I would be glad to see him here as quickly as is convenient to him.
That was very quickly, naturally, when an Admiral needed the presence of a lieutenant.
Mr. Harcourt, I have decided on a change of plan. There is no time to be lost. Kindly set a course for Cape San Antonio.
Cape San Antonio. Aye aye, sir.
Harcourt was a good officer. There was neither surprise nor doubt in his voice as he heard the surprising order.
When we are on the new course I will explain what I intend to do, if you will have the goodness to report to me with the charts, Mr. Harcourt. Bring Mr. Gerard with you.
Aye aye, sir.
Now he could take off his wet shirt and trousers, and dab himself dry with a towel. Somehow the little cabin did not seem so oppressively hot; perhaps because they were out at sea, perhaps because he had reached a decision. He was putting on his trousers at the moment when Harcourt had the helm put down. Crab came round like a top, with lusty arms hauling in on the sheets. She lay far over to starboard, with the wind abeam, and Hornblower, one leg in his trousers, after a frantic hop, trying to preserve his balance, fell on his nose across his cot with his legs in the air. He struggled to his feet again; Crab still heeled over to starboard, farther and then less, as each roller of the beam sea passed under her, each roll taking Hornblower by surprise as he tried to put his other leg into his trousers so that he sat down twice, abruptly, on his coat before he managed it. It was as well that Harcourt and Gerard re-entered the cabin only after he had succeeded. They listened soberly while Hornblower told them of his deductions regarding Daring s plans and of his intention to intercept her at the Tobago Channel; Harcourt took his dividers and measured off the distances, and nodded when he had finished.
We can gain four days on her to San Antonio, My Lord, he said. That means well be three days ahead of her there.
Three days should be just enough start for Crab in the long, long race down the length of the Caribbean.
Could we call at Kingston on our way, My Lord? asked Gerard.
It was tempting to consider it, but Hornblower shook his head. It would be no use calling at headquarters, telling the news, possibly picking up reinforcements, if Daring slipped past them as they were doing so.
It would take too long to work in, he said. Even if we had the sea breeze. And there would be delay while we were there. Weve nothing to spare as it is.
I suppose not, My Lord, agreed Gerard, grudgingly. He was playing the part of the staff officer, whose duty it was to be critical of any suggested plan. Then what do we do when we meet her?
Hornblower met Gerards eyes with a steady glance; Gerard was asking the question that had been already
asked and left unanswered.
I am forming plans to meet that situation, said Hornblower, and there was a rasping tone in his voice which forbade Gerard to press the matter.
Theres not more than twenty miles of navigable water in the Tobago Channel, My Lord, said Harcourt, still busy with his dividers.
Then she can hardly pass us unobserved even by night, said Hornblower. I think, gentlemen, that we are acting on the best possible plan. Perhaps the only possible plan.
Yes, My Lord, said Harcourt; his imagination was hard at work. If Boney once gets loose again
He could not go on. He could not face that appalling possibility.
We have to see to it that he does not, gentlemen. And now that we have done all that we can it would be sensible if we took some rest. I dont think any one of us has had any sleep for a considerable time.
That was true. Now that he had made up his mind upon a course of action, now that he was committed to it, for good or ill, Hornblower felt his eyelids drooping and sleep overcoming him. He lay down on his cot after his officers had left him. With the wind on the port beam and the cot against the bulkhead to starboard he could relax completely with no fear of rolling out. He closed his eyes. Already he had begun to form the answer to the question Gerard had asked. The answer was a hideous one, something horrible to contemplate. But it seemed to be inevitable. He had his duty to do, and now he could be sure that he was doing it to the best of his ability. With his conscience clear, with a reassuring certainty that he was using the best of his judgment, the inevitability of the rest of the future reinforced his need for sleep. He slept until dawn; he even dozed for a few minutes after that, before he began to think clearly enough again in the daylight for that horrible thought to begin to nag at him again.
That was how the Crab began her historic race to the Tobago Channel, over a distance nearly as great as the Atlantic is wide, with the brave trade wind laying her over as she thrashed along. All hands on board knew that she was engaged in a race, for in a little ship like Crab nothing could be kept secret; and all hands entered into the spirit of the race with the enthusiasm to be expected of them. Sympathetic eyes were turned towards the lonely figure of the Admiral standing braced on the tiny quarterdeck with the wind singing round him. Everyone knew the chances he was taking; everyone thought that he deserved to win, and no one could guess at his real torment over the certainty that was crystallising in his mind that this was the end of his career, whether he should win the race or lose it.