The Secretary to the Board of Admiralty probably received crackpot schemes for the destruction of the French Navy every day of the week.
“Boney will be sending orders from Paris, often enough,” went on Hornblower. He was not going to give up. “How often do you transmit orders from this office to Commanders‑in‑Chief, sir? To Admiral Cornwallis, for instance? Once a week, sir? Oftener?”
“At least,” admitted Marsden.
“Boney would write more often than that, I think.”
“He would,” agreed Barrow.
“And those orders would come by road. Of course Boney would never trust the Spanish postal services. An officer — a French officer, one of the Imperial aides‑de-camp — would ride with the orders through Spain, from the French frontier to Ferrol.”
“Yes?” said Marsden. He was at least interested enough to admit an interrogative note into the monosyllable.
“Captain Hornblower has been engaged on gathering information from the French coast for the last two years,” interposed Barrow. “His name was always appearing in Cornwallis’ dispatches, Mr Marsden.”
“I know that, Mr Barrow,” said Madden; there might even be a testy note in his voice at the interruption.
“The dispatch is forged,” said Hornblower, taking the final plunge. “A small party is landed secretly with it at a quiet spot on the Spanish Biscay coast, posing as French officials, or Spanish officials, and they travel slowly towards the frontier along the highroad. A succession of couriers is coming in the opposite direction, bearing orders for Villeneuve. Seize one of them — kill him, perhaps — or perhaps with the best of luck substitute the forged order for the one he is carrying. Otherwise one of the party turns back, posing as a French officer, and delivers the false letter to Villeneuve.”
There was the whole plan, fantastic and yet — and yet — at least faintly possible. At least not demonstrably impossible.
“You say you’ve seen these Spanish roads, Captain?” asked Barrow.
“I saw something of them, sir.”
Hornblower turned back from addressing Barrow to find Marsden’s gaze still unwavering, fixed on his face.
“Haven’t you any more to say, Captain? Surely you have.”
This might be irony; it might be intended to lure him into making a greater and greater fool of himself. But there was so much that was plainly obvious and which he had forborne to mention. His weary mind could still deal with such points, with a moment to put them in order.
“This is an opportunity, gentlemen. A victory at sea is what England needs more than anything else at this moment. Could we measure its value? Could we? It would put an end to Boney’s schemes. It would ease the strain of blockade beyond all measure. What would we give for the chance?”
“Millions,” said Barrow.
“And what do we risk? Two or three agents. If they fail, that is all we have lost. A penny ticket in a lottery. An infinite gain against an inconsiderable loss.”
“You are positively eloquent, Captain,” said Marsden, still without any inflexion in his voice.
“I had no intention of being eloquent, sir,” said Hornblower, and was a little taken aback at realizing how much truth there was in such a simple statement.
He was suddenly annoyed both with himself and with the others. He had allowed himself to be drawn into indiscretions, to appear as one of the feather‑brained crackpots for whom Marsden must have so much contempt. He rose in irritation from his chair, and then restrained himself on the verge of being still more indiscreet by displaying irritation. A stiffly formal attitude would be better; something that would prove that his recent speeches had been mere polite and meaningless conversation. Moreover he must forestall the imminent and inevitable dismissal if he were going to preserve any of his self‑respect.
“I have consumed a great deal of your very valuable time, gentlemen,” he said.
There was a sudden sharp pleasure, despite his weariness, in thus being the first to make a move, to volunteer to quit the company of the Secretary to the Board, and of the Second Secretary, while dozens of junior officers were prepared to wait hours and days for an interview. But Marsden was addressing Barrow.