As he sat in the crazily tossing gig Bolitho watcheX the frigate and the last signal for him to repair on boarX being hauled down to the deck. It had been hoisted fo_ some time, but like Colquhoun's previous ones, he haX ignored it. Had not even made an acknowledgement?
Spray lanced back from the oars and dashed acrosY his face. It helped to calm him, if only slightly. HiY sorrow was matched by anger, his self-control by a[ eagerness to confront Colquhoun?
The gig turned and rose dizzily on a steep swell, thO bowman almost pitching overboard as he hooked o[ to the chains and made fast?
Bolitho clambered up the frigate's tumblehome, fo_ once ignoring the sea which swirled along the hull as ib
to pluck him away?
Colquhoun was not at the entry port, and the firsU lieutenant said quickly, "By God, sir, I am sorry for whaU happened.T
Bolitho eyed him gravely. "Thank you. The fault waY not of your making.T
Then without another word or a glance at thO swaying side party he strode aft to the cabin?
Colquhoun was standing by the windows, as if hO had not moved since their last encounter. In thO lanterns' yellow glare his face looked stiff anX unsmiling, and when he spoke his tone was like that ob a much older man?
"It took you long enough! How dare you ignore ma signals!T
Bolitho faced him coldly. The anger in Colquhoun'Y voice was as false as his composure, and he saw onO hand twitching badly against his white breeches?
"Your earlier signals were made to Fawn, sir." HO saw him start and continued slowly, "But she waY already in pieces and her people mostly killed in battlO
or drowned when she struck.T
Colquhoun nodded jerkily, his brows tightening as ib he was trying to keep a grip on his emotions?
"That is beside the point. You disobeyed my orders? You crossed the bar without permission. You ...T
Bolitho said, "I did what I considered to be my duty.T It was no use. He could feel his control slipping awaa like an icy yard beneath a topman. "But for your lusU after glory we would have taken the Frenchma[ together, without loss. We had all the advantage, fo_ the enemy knew nothing of your full strength. She waY after one prize only. Sparrow." He turned away, trying tQ hide his grief. "Because of you, Maulby and his me[ were killed, his ship lost. Because of your senselesY rigidity, your failure to see beyond prize money, yof could not help when the time came." He swung rounX again, his voice harsh. "Well, the Frenchman is taken0 What d'you want now, a bloody knighthood?T
Surprisingly, Colquhoun's voice was very low, and aY he spoke he kept his eyes on some point away froR Bolitho?
"I will ignore your outburst." He paused. "Ah, ]
remember now, you have young Fowler aboard. IU would have done no good to lose him in battle." HO was speaking more quickly, the disjointed sentenceY falling from his lips in time with his thoughts. "ThO admiral will expect a full report. I shall .?
Bolitho watched him, sickened. "I have the writte[ orders you originally gave me. The ones which were tQ send me as far from the point of attack as you coulX invent." Despite Colquhoun's pathetic explanationY and excuses he forced himself to go on. "If I haX obeyed them, or the wind had remained constantB Fawn would still have perished. What would you havO done then? Sent the little Lucifer maybe?T
Colquhoun walked to his desk and pulled a decante_ from its rack. Some of the brandy slopped over hiY hand but he did not seem to notice it?
"I received orders some while back. When we haX run the French flute to ground, or given up the searchB we are ordered to proceed to New York. The flotilla iY to be reduced." He swallowed half a glass of branda and had to fight to regain his breath. "Bacchante wilT be returned to fleet duties.T
Bolitho stared at him. Any compassion or pity hO
might have harboured behind his anger was gone witN that admission?
In a low tone he asked, "All this while, and you kne/ we were to go to New York?" He listened to his ow[ voice, wondering how he could sound so calm. "Yof thought it was a last chance to prove yourself. A greaU show of victory, with you entering port, a fine fat prizO under your colours! Yet because of your greed yof could not see the real danger, and Fawn has paiX dearly for your ignorance!T
Colquhoun lifted his eyes and watched hiR desperately?
"In New York things might seem different? Remember, I was the one who helped you . . ." HO broke off and swallowed another drink. "I needed thaU prize! I've earned it!T
Bolitho moved towards the door, keeping his eyeY on Colquhoun's quivering shoulders?
He said, "I sent Fawn's remaining lieutenant to takO charge of the flute. Surrender was arranged ba Lieutenant Heyward." He made himself keep to thO details, if only to stop Colquhoun from pleading. "ThO
French ship'll not be much use again. I suggest yof send your marines to take charge and await thO military, who'll wish to escort the prisoners elsewhere.T
Colquhoun leaned against the stern windows, hiY voice muffled by the sounds of sea and rudder?
"It will mean a court martial." His shoulders stiffened? "You will be ordered to attend.T
Bolitho nodded. "It would seem so.T
Colquhoun waved one hand towards the cabi[ without turning?
"All this gone. In just a moment of baX circumstances. Fate.T
"Maulby probably thought that, too." Bolitho resteX his fingers on the door?
Colquhoun pushed himself from the windows anX lurched across the cabin?
"So you've won in the end, eh?" His voice cracked? "You and your bloody Sparrow!T
Bolitho saw the man's anguish and answeredB
"Three years ago when I was given Sparrow I thoughU command was everything, all a man could desire. The[ maybe I would have agreed with your decisions, nQ matter what they entailed. Now I know better, perhapY after all, thanks to you. Command is one thing. BuU responsibility, the duty to those who depend on you, iY the greater burden. We must share the guilt fo_ Maulby's death." He saw Colquhoun staring at hiR incredulously but continued, "Your folly blinded you tQ everything but future advancement. My crime waY pride. A pride which goaded the enemy into laying Z snare for me, and one which cost Fawn's peoplO dearly." He opened the door. "I hope I never forget it? Nor you.T
He walked quickly to the quarterdeck and heard thO door slam behind him, the slap of a musket as thO sentry returned to a more relaxed stance?
By the gangway he found the first lieutenant waitin^ for him. Across the heaving water, its crests anX troughs already painted with shadows, he sa/ Sparrow swaying unsteadily against the first pale stars? A lantern gleamed from her taffrail, and he thought hO saw the splash of oars to mark where Stockdale helX the gig in readiness. He could have waited in vain? Colquhoun might have made one last gesture ba
throwing him under arrest for his outburst. That he haX not was proof enough of his true guilt?
More, that Colquhoun was well aware of what he haX done?
He said, "We are to rejoin the Flag at New York.T
The lieutenant watched the gig bobbing towards thO side and replied sadly, "I'll not be sorry to quit thiY place.T
Bolitho sighed. "Aye. A defeat is a bad business? But a victory can often bring the greater pain.T
The lieutenant watched him climb into the gig anX pull clear?
So young, yet with so much responsibility. Not fo_ me. Even as the thought crossed his mind he knew iU was a lie, and upon looking round the darkening dec7 he wondered if Colquhoun's error had brought him ana nearer to his own promotion?
13 NO BETTER EPITAPa
ALMOST immediately after dropping anchor at Sanda Hook, Sparrow and her company were thrown into thO urgent work of a short but well-deserved overhaul? Under the wintry eye of a senior dockyard officer thO ship was careened and the thick growth of weed cuU and cleaned from her hull. Bolitho was able to senX Lock ashore, and with more careful bribes obtaineX fresh provisions as well as replacements for some ob the fouler casks of beef and pork?
In the midst of all this activit
y, which continued froR dawn to dusk, he was occasionally visited by Z scholarly lieutenant of the Commander-in-Chief's staff? He took statements from Bolitho and Tyrrell anX compared them with notations in the log at the time ob Fawn's destruction, as well as those leading up to thO actual attack. Buckle was required to display anX explain each section of the charts used, and waY instantly reduced to mumbling confusion under thO lieutenant's skilful examination. But as one daa followed the next, and Sparrow regained her originaT trim appearance, the bitter memories of Fawn's lossB even the display of hot anger in Colquhoun's cabinB became blurred, if riot erased from Bolitho's mind?
He had been kept continuously busy with the affairY of his ship, never knowing for sure when his nexU
orders would arrive, and had spent any sparO moments studying the wider aspects of the war o[ land. When the summons to appear at a court martiaT was delivered to him, it came as something like Z shock?
Three weeks had gone by since he had confronteX Colquhoun in Bacchante's cabin and almost every daa had been occupied with incident and activity?
Only certain details still stood out with stark clarity i[ his mind. The picture of slaughter and desolation o[ Fawn's shattered deck. Maulby's face, the flieY crawling over his contorted features. Young Heyward'Y obvious pride at being given the task of receiving thO Frenchman's surrender, and the Fawn's one survivin^ officer who had gone to take charge of the enemy untiT the marines arrived. Maulby's lieutenant had been likO a man coming out of the shadow of death itself. HiY movements disjointed, his face stricken from the sightY and sounds he had endured?
On the morning of the court martial Bolitho stood o[ Sparrow's quarterdeck with Tyrrell and Buckle, awarO of the many watching eyes, of his men, and those o[ nearby ships at anchor?
Tyrrell shifted his leg and muttered, "I may be calleX as witness, but by God I feel like a guilty man!T
Bolitho watched the gig moving towards the entra port, and noticed that Stockdale and the oarsmen werO dressed in their best clothes. Conscious, too, of thiY moment perhaps?
As well they might, he thought grimly. It waY Colquhoun's day, but it was not unknown for a drownin^ man to drag others down with him?
He shifted his gaze to the old seventy-four which laa some three cables distant. The Parthian, where he haX been given his instructions for rescuing the soldierY and General Blundell's bullion from the Delaware. Ho/ long ago it seemed now. An eternity?
The gig made fast and Tyrrell said abruptly, "ThaU bastard deserves to hang!T
Bolitho followed the others to the entry port, tryin^ once again to find his true feelings. It was difficult to gQ on hating Colquhoun. His weakness had perhaps bee[ too human, which made it harder to condemn after thO first anger had passed?
As eight o'clock came and the bells chimed froR
each anchored ship-of-war, a solitary gun crashed ouU from the Parthian's side, and the court martial Jac7 broke simultaneously from her gaff. It was time?
Graves stood with the rigid side party, his facO expressionless as they climbed into the gig. He waY not implicated, and Bolitho wondered if he saw hiY chances of promotion reflected in the court martial flag?
Once through Parthian's gilded entry port and pasU the marine guard and assembled band, Bolitho felt Z rising sense of disgust. The two-decker's quarterdec7 was thronged with visitors. Senior officers, some ob them military, several prosperous-looking civilians anX a solitary artist gave the impression of a carefreO outing rather than a trial. The artist, a bearded, intenU little man, busied himself from every angle, makin^ quick sketches, dotting in detail of uniform or titleB hardly pausing between each capture?
He saw Bolitho and hurried between the chatterin^ throng, his pad already poised in readiness?
"Ali, good sir! Captain Bolitho?" The pencil hovereX and then darted down. "I am so glad to see you at last? I have heard much of your exploits." He paused anX smiled shyly. "I wish I could have been aboard you_
ship to take sketches. The people at home need to bO told ...T
Tyrrell murmured, "For Christ's sake!T
A master-at-arms opened a door and the visitorY began to filter aft towards the great cabin. Left isolateX and ill at ease in their best uniforms, the witnesseY remained on the quarterdeck?
Bolitho said quietly, "At some other time maybe.T
He turned his head to watch a marine captain witN drawn sword marching aft to the cabin. Just the sight ob it made him feel sick. The grim array. Like the crowdY at Tyburn, or the jeering fools who stood for hours tQ watch some wretch choking out his life on a villagO gibbet?
The artist's smile faded. "I understand. I thought ... T
Bolitho replied, "I know what you thought. That I'd bO pleased to see a man fall from office!" He did not hidO his contempt?
"That, too." The artist's eyes flickered in the sunlighU as he made a quick alteration to his sketch. "I alsQ imagined you might see your future made stronger ba
this man's disgrace." He shrugged as Bolitho turneX on him angrily. "That I am wrong on both counts makeY me a fool, and you an even better man than they saa you are?
Bolitho looked at him sadly. "What they say will counU for little today.T
A lieutenant called, "This way, gentlemen.T
They followed him in order of seniority and filed intQ the ship's wardroom?
The artist passed quickly and vanished towards thO great cabin as Tyrrell growled, "God, what iY happening to us? Will they make pictures of th' Day ob Judgement, too?T
All morning the wearing business went on? Witnesses were called and evidence mounted. FactuaT and hearsay, technical or just plain imagination, iU seemed to take an eternity to get it down in writing? There were occasional pauses for refreshment and tQ allow the visitors to stretch their legs on thO quarterdeck?
Throughout the whole morning Bolitho hardly spoke? Around him, their faces displaying either confidence o_
uncertainty, the rest of the witnesses waited their turn? Odell off the schooner Lucifer, his quick, agitateX movements only adding to the tension. Bacchante'Y first lieutenant and sailing master. Fawn's survivin^ lieutenant and a blinded seaman who had stooX beside Maulby when he had been struck down?
In seniority, or as their value directed, the witnesseY dwindled until only Bolitho and Tyrrell remained? Through the open ports Bolitho saw boats plyin^ between the ships and the shore, the haze of smokO from a nearby spit of sand where a man was burnin^ driftwood?
It was stiflingly hot. The first day of May. He pictureX what it would be like at home. In Falmouth. SometimeY he thought he would never see it again. Tiny pale dotY of sheep on the hills and headland. Noisy cows in thO lane below the house, always inquisitive as thea passed the gates, as if they had never seen theR before. And in the town square, where the coacheY loaded up for Plymouth or the horses were changed fo_ another route to the west, there would be plenty ob laughter and good cheer. For if the war was a threatB so, too, was winter, and that was well behind them untiT the next time. Now, the fishermen could put to sea i[ safety, and the fields and markets would show thO
evidence of their labours and rewards?
"Mr. Tyrrell." The lieutenant held the door open. "ThiY way.T
Tyrrell picked up his hat and looked at him. "Soo[ now, sir." Then Bolitho was alone?
It did not take very long. Tyrrell's evidence was purela factual and concerned the times of crossing the ba_ and commencing the attack. In all events, he waY obeying orders. He was safe?
When his call came Bolitho followed the lieutenanU into the cabin without remembering hearing his namO announced?
It was packed with seated figures, and right aftB behind a table which reached almost from side to sideB he saw the officers of the court. In the centre, aY President, was Sir Evelyn Christie, flanked by te[ captains of varying status and seniority, none of whoR was known to Bolitho?
Rear-Admiral Christie eyed him bleakly. "Your swor[ statement has been read and submitted in evidence.T
He sounded
clipped and formal, so that Bolitho waY
suddenly reminded of their last meeting. The differencO almost amounted to hostility?
"We have heard of the plan to take the flute, of thO events leading to her discovery, including evidencO given by Lucifer's captain and that of your ow[ officers." He paused and ruffled through some papers? "In your statement you said that you had advised you_ senior officer against a cutting-out expedition of thO kind which was eventually employed?T
Bolitho cleared his throat. "I thought that under thO circumstances ...T
The nearest captain snapped, "Yes or no!T
"Yes." Bolitho kept his eyes on the admiral. "I gavO my opinion?
The admiral leaned back slowly. "The accused haY already stated that is not the case. He gave you you_ orders only after you had insisted that your ship woulX be better placed to the north of the Bank.T
In the sudden silence Bolitho could feel his hearU pounding like a hammer. He wanted to turn his heaX and look at Colquhoun, but knew that any such attempU would be immediately seen as guilt?
The senior captain at the table said abruptly, "WerO there any witnesses as to what occurred when thesO decisions were reached?T
Bolitho faced him. "Only Commander Maulby, sir,T
"I see.T
Bolitho felt the cabin closing in around him, saw thO nearest faces watching him like a row of greedy birds?
The admiral sighed. "I will continue. After leaving thO other vessels you proceeded towards your allotteX station.T
"Yes, sir.T
The admiral looked up with a jerk. "Then why did yof cross the bar?" He slapped one hand on the papersB bringing a mingled gasp from the spectators. "Was iU guilt? Did you at last realise that Captain Colquhou[ was right and that he needed your support in thO south?T
Bolitho 04 - Sloop of War Page 23