“Your report with your prizes made it clear that you had taken a flotilla that was to sweep along the coast here. The Governor was most pleased with your initiative, I must say. So, naturally, was I. My own despatches to the Admiralty have made much of your actions, Sir Frederick, and, you will be pleased to know, I sent them in duplicate to friends so that the lubricious First Lord might not suppress them! Your actions will be public knowledge, Sir Frederick!”
Frederick gave a glad smile – he was delighted, he implied. He was, to an extent, but he was also curious to know why – the Admiral was not renowned for his love of his fellow man and certainly was not one to give something for nothing. What, Frederick wondered, was his price.
“Your prizes were bought by local ship owners who had charters for stores. They were pleased to have the opportunity to lay their hands on such vessels, having thought they must send a fleet of little brigs and schooners to carry the quantities the expedition demanded. They bid the hulls up to a very respectable price, you will be pleased to hear. The slaves presented a difficulty, until the Governor bethought him of the precedent set in the Sugar Islands in the last war. More than thirteen thousand Africans were bought and made into soldiers, so the records show. The Governor purchased eight hundred young men and put them into red coats, promising them a wage and the chance to be discharged as free men at the war’s end. They seemed to go very willingly. The women and children provided a problem, but there were fewer of them and they have been placed here at the Cape. The effect is that each of your captains is some three thousand pounds in pocket just from the slaves, as you are sharing equally throughout the squadron. Your young men particularly must be delighted by that.”
Frederick shook his head, as pleased with the money as he was dismayed by its source.
“I cannot love slavery, sir. I am ashamed to take money from it. At least the men have gone to honourable service and will one day be free, and their fate is far preferable to that awaiting them from their original masters. The boys especially, I was told.”
The Admiral wondered what had faced them; he winced when Frederick told him.
“Soldiering is certainly a far more desirable end, Sir Frederick!”
“It seems that thousands are taken each year from Africa to be subjected to that procedure, sir. It is an appalling trade.”
“It is so, Sir Frederick, yet it is sanctioned by the Good Book, you know. One must accept that it has a degree of legitimacy.”
Frederick made no comment, not knowing whether the Admiral was of an evangelical persuasion and therefore making no comment on the value of the Bible as a guide to everyday conduct.
“The yard is available to you, Sir Frederick, will be pleased to have something to do, in fact. Then there will be the matter of what comes next for you. The Governor made mention to me of information that had recently come his way that was causing him some concern. He will no doubt wish to tell you of it.”
The Governor wished to tell Frederick in great detail of his intelligence, sent from London, he said, by fast despatch runner and less than four months old.
“The message stated that I might mention ‘Murray’ to you, Sir Frederick, thus to offer you some sort of reassurance of the quality of the information.”
“Provided only that the word was used with the gentleman’s knowledge, then it does, sir. I would suggest that it is in the highest degree unusual to risk publicly identifying a person in his trade.”
“The despatch was personal to me, Sir Frederick, and has not been opened by my clerks and has been kept under lock and key in my office. It came in an iron box, lead weighted, and with holes in to allow sea water inside and thus certain to sink if jettisoned.”
“Then it was safe, I would imagine, sir. No British captain would fail to destroy his papers if the vessel was in danger of being taken. We are to assume that the information is good and that it is of vital significance.”
“Very good, sir. Purely from curiosity, I do not suppose you might explain the meaning of the word? It is the name, I presume?”
“It is a name, sir, used on occasion by a gentleman of my acquaintance. It may even be his own, though I have never enquired.”
Frederick was unwilling to say so much, but a governor carried vice-regal powers and to refuse an answer came very close to contempt to the Crown. Many governors were men of proven ability and discretion, but there were some who were very mere political placemen; he did not know of which sort this man was.
“To the meat of the matter then, Sir Frederick. It would seem that mouths have opened in London that would have been better closed.”
“That is normal, sir, and too often refers to a large proportion of Public Men.”
“Too true, Sir Frederick. In this case it includes a number of the merchant community as well. In brief there is good reason to suppose that the Spanish authorities were made aware of the intention to descend upon their possessions in South America and were able to send orders to Mexico and thus overland to the Great South Sea and, specifically, to a number of naval vessels located there. They are thought to be making the passage of Cape Horn and will be in the way of falling upon the expedition currently busying itself around Montevideo and Buenos Aires.”
“That is undesirable, sir, in the extreme. The store ships especially must be vulnerable.”
“The fleet as well, sir, for the warning is given that there is at least one of line-of-battleships present and a pair of heavy frigates and perhaps lesser vessels as well. It is thought that the numbers of large vessels are certain, but for sloops and such there can only be a guess. The largest ship known to be in the Great South Sea is a three-decker in the Philippines, of more than one hundred guns and said to have a vast crew including many of native soldiers. She may have left Manila and be the vessel referred to. The frigates are also very large, in the Spanish fashion.”
“That could be interesting, sir. I must, of a certainty, seek to meet them well north of the stormy seas of Cape Horn. Neither Endymion nor Winchester is fit to traverse such waters except in the most urgent need. Importantly, it is unlikely that we would dare open the lower deck gunports, for rolling so much as to be instantly swamped. We could not fight a three-decker in such conditions. A brief stay in the yard, sir, to make the most urgent of repairs only, and then it would seem that we must make all haste to one of the southern ports. Montevideo seems the most obvious, though we might initially look in further to the south. Have you a chart to hand, sir? The waters are new to me.”
They peered at a small-scale map of the South Atlantic Ocean and agreed that there appeared to be a harbour at Bahia Blanca, which was not too much towards Cape Horn itself and might be considered a sensible place for the Spanish flotilla to refit after its long passage and rounding of the Cape.
“Montevideo first, or only after drawing blank, as one might say, at Bahia Blanca?”
The Governor was inclined to accuse Frederick of wit; this was no occasion for humour, he thought, particularly of the naval persuasion.
The Admiral decided that Bahia Blanca must come first. He addressed the Governor austerely, they having disagreed very loudly at past meetings.
“I shall write Sir Frederick’s orders, sir. It will be appropriate, of course, to include your appreciation of the situation and a list of objectives that might be desirable in your opinion. You will appreciate that the Admiralty has made very plain to me that Sir Frederick is to be attached to my command on completion of the first element of his orders.”
There was a long history of disputes between admirals and governors in every colony Britain had ever possessed. The governors knew that they were the embodiment of the Crown in their little fiefdoms, while the admirals answered only to the Admiralty which in turn, they believed, accepted orders only from God. Both sides now expected to go into dispute on first meeting, other than in India where John Company was more powerful than either Crown or Admiralty.
The governor knew that if he fought his corner then the Admiral
would respond by delaying the squadron in the dockyard. If the ships were unfit to go to sea, he would be able to make no rational protest and would fail in any complaint after the event. On this occasion, he must give the Admiral best. He did so with ill grace, smiling falsely.
“Will you wish to ship extra soldiers, Sir Frederick? Major Ponsonby-Willett would be very happy to accompany you again.”
“We may find ourselves making a landing at a smaller port, sir. The men we have are very willing, I have found, but a few more would be useful. I should of course be very pleased to accept the Major’s company again. Since landing at Sambava he has been a useful officer, sir.”
It occurred to Frederick that he might have expressed that sentiment in a kinder fashion, but the governor, fortunately, expected no facility of phraseology from a sailor.
“The major made it clear to me that the behaviour of the native authorities on Madagascar was horrifying, Sir Frederick, and he supported your actions on shore wholeheartedly. He will be very content to lead land forces for you, sir. He will, of course, require the rank of lieutenant-colonel if he is to take command of more than one battalion, which is another incentive for him.”
“Another battalion would be handy in certain circumstances, sir, and would give the capacity to take smaller harbours and deny them to the Spanish. It would also demand a troopship to carry the men. We have been able to squeeze the one thin battalion aboard the larger ships of the squadron, but another four or five hundred simply would not fit.”
The admiral intervened to say that he had the redundant Lion, a fifty gun Fourth Rate, ancient and probably unable to fire a broadside without shaking the hull to bits.
“She is a two decker, of course, and broad in the beam and with holds commensurate with her size. Set her guns ashore, apart from stern chasers and perhaps six or eight carronades for defence, and she could be made useful, for the first time in twenty years. She could swing five hundred hammocks and store their rations and water. A little ingenuity in the yard and she could be given galleys sufficient to feed the men. A week, gentlemen, and she could be yours!”
“A generous offer, sir, and accepted in the spirit in which it was made! May we provisionally set a sailing date eight days hence, do you think?”
The admiral did so think; they shared a bottle in celebration of their unanimity of spirit, so rare in the experience of all three.
The admiral drank his share, and more, of the bottles provided by the governor and was expansive in the coach returning to the yard. Frederick took advantage of his verbosity to ask the occasional gentle question.
“The Governor was in very good skin today, sir. Why do you suppose he was so helpful to us?”
“Because, Sir Frederick, and solely because, he is a frightened little man! And so would I be in his shoes! Excuse me!” The admiral politely turned his head and released a thunderous belch through the coach window. “Where was I?”
There was a distinct tinge of acid to his breath; Frederick mentally gave him six months before his much-abused gastric system failed under the torrent of alcohol poured into it.
“The Governor, sir, in some state of trepidation?”
“Ah, yes! If there is a powerful Spanish squadron, and if it reaches Montevideo in time, then it may play merry hell with the transport of captured treasure to London. If Home Popham, and by extension the Governor, do not deliver a million or more to the Exchequer in Town then they will be hung out to dry! Unauthorised - extra-legal, one might say - expeditions are all very well when accompanied by success. That the government would welcome a million in silver and gold and plate and precious stones: well there is no question of that and the precedent of Sir Francis Drake exists, turned from corsair into a knight by his delivery of Spanish treasure. But those same adventurers are instantly guilty of piracy if they fail to deliver the goods!”
“Does the government have no knowledge of the expedition, sir?”
“Madrid knows of it! And did so well before it sailed, it would seem. They will have gained their knowledge in London, for it is unlikely that they would have spies in Cape Town! Excuse me!”
The whole atmosphere of the coach was becoming acrid; Frederick amended his estimate of the admiral’s life expectancy to three months.
“One hesitates to raise the question, sir, but would it be wiser to sink the Spaniards before or after they can interfere with the treasure ships?”
“They must certainly be sunk, taken or destroyed, Sir Frederick; that is our solemn duty… What a nasty question to ask, Sir Frederick, and how very wise of you to pose it!”
The admiral fell silent for a few seconds, summoning his wits and endeavouring to think clearly; the strain showed on his raddled face.
“Bullion in the Treasury can only be in the national interest – the war is playing havoc with our finances, you know, and the country must be protected, by any and all means. The display of treasure before the newssheets and in the eyes of the people must be to the good. Was I to have the arranging of the matter I would bring the treasure ships into Bristol and then escort wagons along the Great West Road to London with flags flying and signs saying ‘Millions in Spanish Gold for Old England’. Every banker and man of business would see that and know that credit was safe and that they could trade still.”
“So I must do my possible to stop the Spaniards in their tracks, sir.”
“Well, you certainly should, Sir Frederick… Of course, if you fail then that damned fellow Home Popham will receive his comeuppance, and the Governor will be disgraced, and neither event could be regretted… Excuse me!”
The admiral sat back, a faint green tinge to his face, the effort of rational thought bad for him.
“No! Tempting though it may be, Sir Frederick, you must do all you can to protect the takings of the gentlemen’s buccaneering venture. National need must come before personal pleasure in this instance, sir. Make your speed – such as you can with the ships you have – to Bahia Blanca and hopefully to make a thorough nuisance of yourself to the Spanish. Though I have to say I do not like this talk of native troops from the Spanish South Seas – a brigade of hairy barbarians might be disconcerting, sir, especially if you were to attempt a boarding.”
“A nuisance certainly, sir. Sir Iain will have to put his carronades to good use again. He is a most reliable gentleman in tight circumstances, you know.”
“I have read the reports of all he achieved, Sir Frederick. There was a well-earned knighthood!”
“He has few equals as a fighting seaman, sir. I have the greatest of respect for him, as well as no little affection. He recently wed my wife’s sister, Lord Partington’s second daughter, very much to my delight!”
The admiral had not heard of the identity of either captain’s wife; he noted, despite his enfeebled mental state, that the pair had influence behind them. Even a backwoods peer could exercise power, if the need arose. The yard would be pressured to perform without demur; no demands for sweeteners, no delay in the hope of gold in hand in this case.
They sailed on their eighth day, high on their tide, stores full and every barrel checked in broad daylight before being tucked away in the dark holds. The master and surgeon between them had condemned the whole of the pork taken in Portsmouth and had arranged for the beef to go as well, for fear that the rotten barrels might have contaminated them by their proximity. The ranges were full of newly shipped rations.
“All dates good, sir. Every barrelhead examined and its number recorded, sir, on paper!”
The master flourished a great wad of quarto sheets, close covered in his lists.
Frederick had warned Dalby and Mason of the possibility of antics from the yard, telling them of the reworked dates and the rotten barrels of pork he had shipped from Cape Town years before.
“The sole fear I have, sir, is that many of the barrels show that they were salted here in Cape Town. There are pigs in plenty in the farms about the local countryside, and the barrels must be six months fres
her than if they had come from the English salteries, but one cannot necessarily be happy of the skills to be found locally. Add to that, salting in a hot climate, which Cape Town is for parts of the year, sir, may well be a risky process. I shall take care that the surgeon inspects every cask as it is opened, taking more than a sniff and a cursory glance, sir.”
“Wise indeed, Mr Dalby. Is all else satisfactory, Mr Mason?”
“American biscuit, sir, which is commonly better than the English for some reason unknown to me, though I suspect it may be because the wheat flour is exclusively that, unadulterated by bakers’ tricks.”
It was not unknown for bakers in England to stand before the Assizes, caught when they added ground bone to white flour, or potato or alum, even on occasion sawdust, to bulk out their loaves. Biscuit, which was not naturally white in colour, could have a far greater range of additives.
“That is to the good, I doubt not, sir. For the rest?”
“Lemon juice in good quantity but we are short of oats, sir, the yard having supplied quantities of dried maize, which will also they assure us boil into a porridge much loved by the Kaffir population.”
“We can but try it, Mr Mason, but you know what sailors are like!”
“New food is bad food, I know, sir – but no food is worse! At least we have English pease, and local beans besides. Cheese as well from England; no doubt with the consistency of rock, but it gives the men something to chew upon for an hour or two. Purser reports that he has loaded local tobacco which is both strong and very cheap, which the men will approve of.”
“Very good. We are up for rum, I trust?”
“Well supplied, sir, with Indian arrack, Sugar Islands rum, and a local brandy, the better quality of which has filled the wardroom’s pantry. It is remarkably good, sir, washes down a dinner in the most pleasing fashion.”
“I am glad to hear that, Mr Mason. I must try a glass myself. I would strongly recommend very few glasses, however. You all know my opinion of officers who drink at sea, and my love for them!”
Far Foreign (The Duty and Destiny Series, Book 9) Page 12