This surprising armada was reported, bit by bit, from the masthead as the morning cleared, starting with the foremost division of sloops; and Jack had time to spread more canvas, much more canvas, to the north-east breeze before the hail came down: ‘On deck, there. On deck: flag two points on the starboard bow.’
Fortunately the Surprise was in a high state of cleanliness
– decks already dry from the swabbing – guns as neat as a paper of pins – all hands reasonably well turned out and necessarily stone-cold sober; but this did not prevent Harding, Woodbine and the Royal Marine officer from fussing about the ship or Killick from overhauling the rear-admiral’s uniform that Jack wore, on formal occasions, as commodore.
The day cleared. The signal midshipman and his yeoman watched the almost continual stream of hoists running up aloft as Lord Barmouth put his fleet through a variety of manoeuvres and expressing a variety of comments, mostly unfavourable. At last Surprise’s number appeared, together with Commodore repair aboard flag.
Bonden and his crew already had the barge clear for lowering down and the moment he saw Jack emerge from his cabin in the glory of number one scraper, presentation sword and a large quantity of gold lace he gave the word and the boat glided down, instantly followed by bargemen and a master’s mate at the tiller. ‘As soon as we are a cable’s length away,’ said Jack to Harding, ‘start the salute: and I am sure you will never forget a couple of spares in case of a misfire.’
With this he ran down into the barge, and as usual Bonden shoved off, saying to his crew, ‘Row dry, there; row dry.’ And when they had pulled just a cable’s length, the Surprise began her salute to the Commander-in-Chief, seventeen guns: for this was the first time she had met him in office. After the seventeenth Implacable replied, but hesitated slightly after the thirteenth as though doubtful of Jack’s right to more, though his broad pennant was clearly to be seen – hesitated until some angry voice roared from the quarterdeck, when the remaining two were fired almost together.
The captain of Implacable, Henry James, an old shipmate, received Jack kindly as he came aboard: the Royal Marines presented arms, and the flag-lieutenant said, ‘May I take you to the Commander-in-Chief, sir?’
‘I am happy to see you, Mr Aubrey,’ said Lord Barmouth, half-rising from behind his desk and giving him a cold hand.
‘So am I, upon my word,’ said Sir James Frere, the Captain of the Fleet, whose grasp was much more cordial.
‘But I do not quite understand what you are doing in these waters. Pray sit down while you tell me.’
‘My Lord, the previous Commander-in-Chief gave me a squadron with orders to proceed to the lonian and Adriatic and – having seen the trade on its way – to put an end to Bonapartist ship-building in those parts, to persuade some French ships to come over to the Allies and to take, sink, burn and destroy those who would not. An emissary from Sir Joseph Blaine also spoke of the Ministry’s concern at reports of a Muslim confederacy’s intention of preventing the junction of the Russian and Austrian forces marching westward tqjoin the British and Prussian armies, or at least to delay it long enough for Napoleon’s superior numbers to crush each of the Allied states separately. This move on the part of the Muslim group however required the enlistment of a large number of mercenaries; and they had to be paid. The money was to come from a Muslim state on the confines of Morocco, and it was expected to travel by way of Algiers:
our intelligence people eventually put an end to that and it is now to come by sea, through the Straits, as I have told Lord Keith in repeated dispatches, not knowing that he had been superseded. Perhaps I should add that Sir Joseph also supplied my political adviser with a local expert, a gentleman perfectly fluent in Turkish and Arabic, who was of the greatest value: with his help we detached one French frigate, destroyed two others, and burnt a score of yards together with the ships they were building.’
‘Yes,’ said the Admiral. ‘I have heard something of it; and I congratulate you on your success, I am sure . . . (‘How he banged them about!’ murmured Sir James.) Have you prepared a report?’
‘Not yet, my Lord.’
‘Then you can come back to Gibraltar with us and let me have it there as soon as possible. You spoke of your political adviser and his colleague?’
‘Yes, my Lord.’
‘I should be obliged if you would send them both across to confer with my politico.
And Aubrey, although Lord Keith gave you quite a handsome squadron, it has melted away, for convoy duty and the like. What is that schooner you have in company?’
‘She belongs to my surgeon, sir, and she acts as our tender.’
‘Well, she is a handsome little craft, but she don’t amount to a squadron; so perhaps it would be more proper if you were to strike your broad pennant and revert to a private ship.’
Jack had intended to ask the Commander-in-Chief whether there was any news of the French or Allied armies, but these last words were so clearly meant to be disobliging that he merely took his leave. On deck, however, he found Implacable’s captain, who said that although there were rumours of the wildest sort, such as a rising in Ireland and a French invasion of Kent, he had heard nothing authentic except for the soldiers’
exasperation, frequently expressed, at the Russians’ slowness.
Jack nodded with satisfaction and then said, ‘Lord Barmouth has ordered me to send my surgeon and a politico across: they are amazingly gifted linguists and very learned men, but neither has much notion of coming up the side of a ship, and was you to rig a bosun’s chair, I should take it kindly.’
Back in the Surprise he took off his finery, struck his broad pennant, told Harding to follow the flag into Gibraltar, and sent for the log-books. He and Adams were still establishing the bases of his report – obviously with great gaps that only Stephen and Jacob could fill – when they heard the boat’s return, the anxious cries, and the children’s piping ‘We!come aboard, dear Doctors, welcome oh welcome aboard!’
Coming below, Stephen looked attentively at his friend, deep in papers, and said,
‘You are low in your spirits, brother.’
‘Indeed I am. For your own ear alone, I am very much afraid that we are going to be baulked of our galley – pipped on the post – done brown. In my simplicity I told the Commander-in-Chief that she was coming up by the Straits and that I meant to intercept her. I let it be understood, that .I was still acting on the orders given me by Lord Keith; but I fear I may be set aside and the chance given to some more favoured man.’
‘Be easy in your mind, my dear,’ said Stephen in a tone that carried great conviction. ‘Jacob and I have just been talking with the Commander-in-Chief and his politico, then with the politico alone – Matthew Arden, a very intelligent man, very highly influential in Whitehall. The Ministry regard this as an exceptionally important theatre of war and they have sent one of their best brains, a man who has refused high office, very high office indeed. He is also a close friend of Lord Keith’s, who would be mortally offended at heaving his evident wishes set aside. Arden and I have known one another these many years: ,we have never disagreed on any important point, and this time again we got along together exceedingly well. Furthermore, I am happy to say that for all his domineering manner, Lord Barmouth is in awe of Matthew Arden . . . you are drawing up an account of our little campaign, I see . . . heavy going, heavy going: I must give you some remarks on Algerine politics and my sojourn in Africa. But I do wish you could have heard how Arden exulted at your doing in the Adriatic, and how he obliged the Commander-in-Chief to acknowledge that the elimination of that particular danger was a most important feat … No, no, Jack: courageous though Lord Barmouth quite certainly is, I do not believe for a moment that he would dare to use you ill in these circumstances.’
‘How very kind you are to tell me all this, Stephen,’ said Jack. ‘From anyone else I should scarcely have regarded it, but from you …’ He threw aside the pen he had been chewing, walked across the cabin, took up his fiddle and played a wild series of very rapid ascending trills that vanished quite out of hearing. Then he sat at his desk and with another pen he quickly drew up several lists, sent for the gunner and asked him for a state of the ship’s powder and shot. ‘I can tell you quite exactly after five minutes’ look round the magazines, sir,’ said the gunner.