‘Shiver my timbers!’ Nelson exclaimed, when Roger had done. ‘This is indeed valuable intelligence, Mr. Brook. In obtaining it for us you have been of as much service to your country as an extra frigate would have been to me these past two months. ‘Twas only the lack of sufficient of those eyes of the Fleet that prevented me from receiving intelligence of the whereabouts of the French weeks ago and coming up with them to destroy them utterly. Owing to your courageous conduct, we now know Syria to be the next victim on this horrible young Corsican’s list.’
Roger shook his head. ‘Permit me to remark, sir, that General Bonaparte does not merit the opprobrium of the word “horrible”. He is, like all the French who have risen to power since the Revolution, a thief on a grand scale. He is, moreover, completely unscrupulous. Daily he makes promises that he has no intention of keeping and, at any time, to gain his ends he will tell a barefaced lie.
‘Yet, as a person, he possesses great powers of attraction. At times he falls into ungovernable rages, but they are brief and the smiling amends he makes afterwards, if his fury has had small justification, leave their victim more devoted to him than before. He is extremely generous to those who have served him well, and particularly to his family who have done little to deserve it. He has no thought of amassing a fortune for himself, which he could so easily do, but seizes treasure only to fill the empty coffers of his country.
‘He is most loyal to his friends, invariably treats women with great courtesy, has an excellent sense of humour and delights in simple games. When I was living at the Court he formed in Italy, after the Armistice of Leoben, he would partake in the evenings, like any schoolboy, in charades with his family and friends, and in other pastimes, too, in which, at times, he willingly made himself a laughing stock.
‘And he has yet other sides. Although not trained to law, he is a great administrator. Although not schooled in science, he can hold his own with the finest intellects and his thirst for knowledge is insatiable. He has brought with him to Egypt more than a hundred distinguished civilians—archaeologists, architects, artists and others—for the purpose of revealing to the world the truth about the country’s ancient civilisation. No, sir, I assure you the word “horrible” is not applicable. I am even of the opinion that if given peace and power he would become a great and just ruler, bringing to France a new era of true liberty, toleration and prosperity.’
Nelson shook his head. ‘Indeed, Mr. Brook, I find this personal account by one who knows Bonaparte well of the greatest interest, and you have made out a good case for him. But it is the duty of both of us to do our utmost to destroy him and all the other blasphemous atheists who now make the French race anathema to us. My most earnest prayer is that I may be permitted to continue helping in God’s work and live to see this done. Please tell me now of your hazardous landing, the desert march and the great battle outside Cairo.’
For half an hour Roger described the scenes through which he had lived during the past month, Nelson interrupting him only occasionally to ask swift, shrewd questions. When he had done the Admiral said:
‘And now, what of your future plans?’
Roger laughed. ‘Why, sir, I could not have a happier outlook. Being captured gives me the perfect excuse for returning to England, and I am counting on your good offices to have me conveyed thither.’
Nelson looked thoughtful, then he said, ‘But did you not tell me that you are employed by Mr. Pitt?’
‘Not in the ordinary sense, sir. I have undertaken certain special missions for him, but I remain my own master. When I last saw him I was not charged with any specific task. I volunteered only to return to France and do my best to keep him informed of the future intentions of the Directory. I will not trouble you with particulars of the event which led to my accompanying General Bonaparte to Egypt. It suffices to say that I had no wish to do so, but was compelled to it, lest suspicion fall upon me of my intentions in France.’
‘Yet coming to Egypt enabled you to provide us with an invaluable piece of intelligence—this despatch. Your position as an Englishman on Bonaparte’s Staff is unique. If you remain here similar opportunities may well arise. Moreover you were previously cut off from sending regular reports, whereas now that the French Fleet is destroyed I shall blockade the coast. There will be British ships constantly patrolling these waters. We could arrange for boats to be sent ashore to lonely places at certain times to pick up anything you could send. Even a general outline once a month of what is going forward at Bonaparte’s headquarters would be worth its weight in diamonds to us.’
Roger gave the Admiral an uneasy look. ‘There is much in what you say, sir. But Cairo is all of five days’ ride distant, and I could not leave my post at will. It would be near impossible to find a safe hand by which to send such reports to the coast and, did one go astray, it would cost me my life.’
‘I appreciate that; but even so I think you should remain. Leaving aside the question of regular reports, you might well become privy to some major decision by Bonaparte which could mean the success or failure of an entire campaign. It would then be worth while for you to leave your headquarters without permission in order to inform us of it.’
As Roger listened, black misery descended on him. It now looked as though his happy dreams of the morning were to be shattered completely. Suddenly revolting against the course the Admiral was seeking to force upon him, he exclaimed:
‘But damme, sir! I’ve already done enough to justify my request for a passage home. Owing to your great victory, the French are now cut off. Even should Bonaparte wish to take his Army back to France he cannot. So maybe for years to come I’d be stranded in the East.’
Nelson’s thin, lined face grew stern. ‘Must I remind you, Mr. Brook, that our country is at war? On that account many of my brave men gave their lives this past night; whereas you are called on only to return to Cairo, and by so doing may render a service far greater than lay in the power of any one of them to perform.’
Roger suppressed a groan, then shook his head. ‘I cry you mercy, sir! I am no coward. Time and again, during these past ten years, I’ve risked my life; but there is a limit beyond which———’
‘Mr. Brook!’ the Admiral cut in, ‘there is no limit to the duty we owe our King and country. And in these very special circumstances I do not consider it consonant with mine to find you a passage home.’
With fury in his heart Roger stared at the frail, tense figure on the far side of the desk, then burst out, ‘If you think the last would deter me, you have misjudged your man. Had I a mind to it, I would unaided reach China or Peru. Aye, or still in the guise of a French Colonel break prison and, despite your damned blockade, reach home.’
A smile twitched at Nelson’s lips and he said quietly, ‘You are wrong, Mr. Brook. I have not misjudged my man. There spoke the son of my old comrade-in-arms. You could not have proved better to me that you are a real chip off the old block and a true Englishman. And that is why you will return to Cairo.’
Roger slumped back in his chair with a heavy sigh. Then, suddenly, he smiled. ‘I had meant, sir, to give you joy of your great victory. Now I give you joy of two, although the latter is a very minor one. I give you best, and will do as you wish.’
‘Well said! I felt assured you would.’ The Admiral’s bright eye now beamed with approval. ‘With my next despatch I’ll enclose a letter for your father’s eye only, thus giving him the joy of reporting to Mr. Pitt the fine service rendered by his son. And now, how shall we set about returning you to Bonaparte?’
This was no simple matter; for the thunder of the cannonade had brought hundreds of Arabs to the beach, and since dawn they had been murdering and stripping such French sailors as had managed to swim ashore. Even if it had been safe for Roger to land he could not be provided with a horse and it was over ten miles to Alexandria. Then, since he insisted that none of Nelson’s men should be allowed into his secret, they must continue to believe him French, yet some way must be devised
by which he could escape.
After ten minutes’ thought and discussion a way was found. Nelson recalled his Flag Captain and said to him, ‘Berry, the Colonel is a most sensible man. Naturally he dreads the possibility of being held a prisoner for several years. Therefore, in return for a certain service—although I could not allow him to return to Bonaparte—I have agreed that we will put him ashore as a free man in Crete, Italy or Sicily, as may prove convenient. The service he will render us is to go in a boat with you to the outskirts of Alexandria and point out to you the position of certain concealed batteries the French have mounted along the coast. As the Colonel has not yet broken his fast, be good enough to take him to your cabin, have a meal and a bottle of Marsala sent there and then, while he eats, return to me.’
Berry gave Roger a look that barely disguised his contempt for such a traitor, then beckoned him to follow. He bowed his farewell to the little Admiral, with the faintest hint of a wink, and ten minutes later was hungrily disposing of a meal of salt pork washed down by good wine in the Flag Captain’s cabin.
When Berry returned to his Admiral, Nelson said, ‘Don’t be deceived, my dear fellow, by our Colonel. He is no traitor, but a brave man and a slippery customer. I feel certain that he suggested this betrayal of the batteries outside Alexandria because he knows that twilight will be falling by the time a boat can take him there, and that it will have to go close inshore. I’d wager a guinea to a penny that he means to jump out and swim for it.’
‘Should he attempt it,’ Berry growled, ‘I’ll put a pistol bullet through his head.’
The Admiral laughed. ‘Nay, nay; you’ll do nothing of the kind. He gave the impression that he was talking very freely, and so did I. In short, I trust that I matched his cunning with my own. I’ve given him a main-sail full of false information and I wish him to convey it to that scoundrel Bonaparte. A mile or two before you come opposite Alexandria have the boat pull close inshore. Should I prove right, and he jumps for it, let him. And beforehand you must give orders to the boat’s crew that they should fire after him but in no circumstances hit him. Is that clear?’
‘Aye, aye, sir,’ Berry grinned. ‘What a good jest, to use him to deceive the Frog-eaters.’
Roger had no sooner finished his meal than the Flag Captain escorted him down to a longboat, the crew of which had already received their instructions. Again he looked from side to side at the scene of terrible devastation and, as the sailors bent to their oars, the boat nosed its way between wreckage of all kinds and bloated corpses.
Half an hour’s strenuous pulling brought them to seaward of Aboukir Island and, passing over the sandspit, they rounded the promontory. After another hour and a half, that seemed far longer to the anxious Roger, they were within a few miles of Alexandria. By then it was half past six and the sun was sinking low on the horizon. The boat was no more than a hundred yards from the shore and Roger felt that the time had come for him to make his breakaway.
In the stern of the boat Berry was sitting on the landward side of the coxswain and Roger on the seaward side. Praying that Nelson had given his instructions clearly, and that they would be obeyed to the letter, Roger pointed to a mound at no great distance from the beach, and said:
‘Regardez, Monsieur le Capitaine, la premiere redoute …’ Then, jumping up, as Berry turned to look shoreward, he gave him a sharp push sideways and leapt over the gunwhale into the water.
As his head came up he heard shouts and oaths. Ducking swiftly, he swam a dozen yards under water. When he came up a second time he heard shots and several pistol bullets sang over his head. Swimming strongly he got halfway to the shore, then looked back. The coxswain was yelling at the crew of the boat and turning her to come after him. Berry was standing up in the stern, reloading his pistol. The shelving shore was shallow. Next moment Roger’s feet and knees struck sand. Half wading, half swimming, he floundered on, looked back again and saw that the boat had run aground.
Two more pistols cracked. Fearful that he might yet be hit by a bullet, he stood up and splashed his way ashore. By the time his boots were squelching on dry sand the firing had ceased and two of the boat’s crew, having poled their oars, were endeavouring to push the boat off into deeper water. He covered another hundred yards at a lurching run, then flopped down behind the nearest of a group of palm trees.
The only rest he had had since setting out from Damanhûr, nearly forty hours earlier, had been his sleep of exhaustion on the hard tier deck of Audacious. He would have given a great deal to scoop out a hole for his hip in the warm sand and spend the night where he was. But he dare not, in case marauding Arabs came upon and killed him. After twenty minutes to recover from his exertions, he got to his feet and set out on the two-mile trudge to Alexandria.
By the time he reached the most advanced French picket it was fully dark and, when challenged, as he did not know the password, he could only shout that he was a French officer who had escaped from the English. Giving him the benefit of the doubt the sentry called his Sergeant and, as soon as the N.C.O. was satisfied, he could not have been more helpful. From somewhere he produced an Arab with a donkey cart and Roger was driven in it to Kléber’s headquarters.
There he told his story to the General, who had already heard of the disaster to the French Fleet but was anxious to have a full account of it. Roger did his best to oblige him for some twenty minutes, then declared that he was so exhausted that he must go to bed. Kléber, loudly commending him for the wit and courage he had displayed in fooling ‘those pigs of English’ and making his escape, took him up to a bedroom, and a quarter of an hour later he was fast asleep.
In the morning he woke with his bruised arm and side still very sore and, anxious though he now was to get back to Cairo, he decided that it would be foolish to set out on the long journey without having taken at least twenty-four hours to become in better shape. He took his time in getting up, washing and cleaning himself, while one of the Guides he had brought as escort sponged and pressed his now faded and tattered uniform.
Shortly before midday he went to Sarodopulous’s office and asked the banker if he might spend the rest of the day and a night at his villa. The bearded Greek was delighted and told his handsome nephew, Achilles, to accompany Roger out to the villa and see that he had every comfort.
Roger spent a lazy afternoon on the terrace overlooking the bay. Shortly before dusk his host joined him and gave him the bits of news that he had received from correspondents in several countries, or had picked up from merchant captains who put in at Alexandria. Most of the news was months old, but it often took many weeks for happenings in Western Europe to become known in Egypt.
In May, Count Cobenzl had replaced the less urbane Baron Thugut as Austrian Foreign Minister, and a defensive Treaty had been signed between Austria and Naples.
Towards the end of May there had been a rebellion in Ireland. Disappointed of French support, but encouraged by the London Corresponding Society, some thirty thousand United Irishmen had taken up arms in Kildare and West-meath. But the plot had been leaked, a number of the leaders had been arrested in Dublin just before the signal for the rising had been given and, after a limited amount of fighting, the revolt had been suppressed.
The most astounding news to Roger was that his real master had fought a duel. Apparently an Irish Member of Parliament, named Tierney, had so consistently sought to thwart him on questions of defence that in the House Mr. Pitt had publicly denounced him as a traitor and had refused to withdraw his words. Tierney had thereupon challenged him and, although frail ‘Billy’ Pitt had never fired a shot in anger, he had at once accepted. On Whit Sunday, May 27th, they fought with pistols on Wimbledon Common. In the first discharge neither was hit. In the second Pitt fired into the air, and Tierney then refrained from firing, declaring himself satisfied. But that the brilliant, high-minded Prime Minister—the very soul of all that was best in Britain and the keystone of her resistance—should have felt in honour bound to expose himself to
possible death at the hands of a cantankerous, unpatriotic bully had profoundly shocked all decent people.
One other piece of news gave Roger pleasure. The personally charming but utterly irresponsible Charles Fox, wedded with the years ever more closely to the principles of the French revolutionaries, had, at a birthday dinner given in his honour, argued that two thousand good men might do as much in Britain as Washington had done in America, and later proposed the toast, ‘To our Sovereign, His Majesty the People’. For that the King had struck Fox’s name from the members of the Privy Council.
Sarodopulous then asked Roger how he was placed for funds. Roger thanked him and replied that he had sufficient for his immediate needs and could obtain more from the Paymaster-General in Cairo.
Sarodopulous smiled at him. ‘Perhaps that may not be as easy as you think now that L’Orient has gone down with the treasure that was to pay the French Army. Do not look surprised at my knowing about that, or of your capture and courageous escape, although you made no mention to me of it. As a banker it is my business to be well informed on such matters. All I wish to say is that owing to your introduction I have made a great deal of money, even though charging only the normal rate of exchange. Therefore should you at any time find yourself short, you have only to draw upon me and I shall be happy to honour your draft.’
Roger thanked him heartily and said that, while he hoped it would not be necessary, he would avail himself of the banker’s generous offer should he find himself embarrassed for funds.
The Greek then drew from his pocket a little sack made of soft leather. Opening it, he tipped into his hand a finely worked gold neck-chain which had a single medium-sized but very fine blue diamond hanging from it. Handing it to Roger, he said:
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