The Admiral had now put himself in such a difficult position that Ramage hardly knew how to begin. Davis glanced at Edwards and Ramage, his bloodshot eyes missing little. Although Ramage did not know it, Admiral Davis was a man who knew when to cut his losses.

'Did you get a gun up to the top?'

'Yes, sir,' Ramage said, and decided to get it over with at the rush. 'We swayed two up to the top, a third to a ledge half-way up, and a fourth covers the only cove where a boat can land.'

'Bless my soul,' the Admiral said. 'You must have been mad even to try it. Carronades, eh? Men parbuckled 'em up the hill?'

'Ramage said they swayed them up, sir,' Captain Edwards interposed.

'Carronades, though. Didn't do much good, eh? No range, those things. Don't believe in 'em myself.'

Edwards glanced at Ramage and said quietly: 'I noticed the Juno is missing some 12-pounders. Three, I believe, and a 6-pounder, too ...'

Ramage nodded gratefully. 'Yes, sir. You see, I found that we ...’

'Twelve-pounders?' the Admiral almost shouted. 'Do you mean to tell me you swayed a couple of 12-pounders up to the top of the Diamond?'

‘Well, yes sir, you see ...'

The Admiral slapped the table with a thump that made Ramage blink and miss the old man's expression. 'Splendid! Splendid, m'boy! Dammit, Edwards, I knew I should never have let Eames . . .' he broke off. 'Well, go on, now you have the batteries on top of the Diamond and two half-manned frigates. Then you wait and wait for that damned old Admiral, who never comes, eh?'

He was grinning now, and Ramage decided he could be completely frank. Admiral Davis was far shrewder than he seemed and had a sense of humour lurking beneath that almost purple complexion.

'Well, sir, to be truthful, we waited for the convoy ...’

'Damme, that's an honest enough answer, eh, Edwards? What's your seniority, Ramage?'

'Last name in the List when I left England, sir.'

'Ah yes, I remember. By jove, for the last few days you've been commanding a squadron of - how many ships?'

'Eleven, sir: three frigates, a schooner and seven merchant ships.'

'Ah yes, now let's hear about the convoy.’

Ramage began by describing briefly how he hoped to lure the convoy and escorts into the Fours Channel, where he could make a surprise attack with the two frigates, using La Créole as a Trojan horse and, as soon as the French ships were within range, opening fire with the Diamond batteries.

His attempt to keep his story brief failed completely: both the Admiral and Captain Edwards kept interrupting with questions. How did he time the arrival of the Juno and Surcouf so the French were squarely in the Channel? How did Ramage expect to break through two frigates with the half-manned Juno to attack from the unprotected landward side? How could he expect the Surcouf to dodge the two remaining frigates?

Ramage hurried on, trying to hold back the questions. He described how Aitken had suddenly worn the Surcouf round so that the two frigates about to attack him on either bow collided with each other. Then he had to digress to answer the Admiral's question about what had happened to them. He related how the Diamond battery had disabled La Comète and blown up La Prudente so that they could take possession of the whole convoy. La Créole's change of role from a French privateer coming to meet the convoy to a British schooner brought the comment from Captain Edwards about a poacher turning gamekeeper.

They were interrupted by a lieutenant reporting to Captain Edwards that the Invincible was now in the Fours Channel, with the Diamond Rock bearing south one mile. The Admiral waved him away impatiently. 'We'll go up and look into Fort Royal Bay. Scare those privateers, in case they're thinking of sneaking out.'

As the lieutenant left the cabin the Admiral's brow creased. 'Who is in command of all these ships of yours?'

'The Master is on board the Juno, sir; my former First Lieutenant, Aitken, the man I was telling you about, is commanding the Surcouf. My former Second, Wagstaffe, has La Créole. Baker was the Third, and Lacey, the Fourth, is with Aitken. I had to leave a petty officer in command of the Diamond, sir, and he did very well. Altogether I -'

'One frigate goes into action with her commanding officer, the Master and less than a third of her complement; another has a first lieutenant and a fourth . . . Ramage, you are completely mad. If you stay alive long enough to give Their Lordships a chance to appreciate you, you'll go a long way in the Service. Your problem will be staying alive. Now we have to find enough men to get those prizes up to Antigua. The merchant ships, I mean. And I have two more frigates.'

He stood up and walked round the cabin for two or three minutes, obviously trying to reach some sort of decision, and then came and sat down again opposite Ramage.

'I need the Surcouf for a special service. You say she's fast. Her bottom clean? Good condition? Fine, fine. I'm transferring you to her. Wait a moment,' he said when Ramage's face fell, 'you'll have your own ship's company. For what I have in mind you'll need the extra guns and speed, since she's a thirty-six and the Juno is only a thirty-two - a twenty-eight at the moment, rather.'

Ramage knew that if he did not put in a word for Aitken now the Admiral's plans would be completed beyond hope of change. 'Sir, I was hoping that perhaps you could find a place for Aitken ...'

'Hold your tongue a moment, boy, I'm trying to arrange two things at once. You to the Surcouf, so that's settled. This fellow Aitken made post - the Admiralty will confirm it later, no question of that - and given the Juno. We have to find a ship's company for the Juno, but we'll manage that somehow. La Comète needs careening, which means English Harbour, Antigua ...'

'I was hoping, sir, that Wagstaffe –‘

The Admiral glared at him. 'Do you want him as your First in the Surcouf, or let him go off as First in La Comète and eat his heart out in the dockyard for a few weeks?'

'I'd sooner have him with me, sir.'

'Very well; so far you've only interrupted with suggestions that I've already dealt with in my mind. Be patient!'

He tapped the table with the fingers of his right hand. 'There's La Créole. Who deserves her, Baker or your Fourth, Lacey?'

'Baker, sir. Lacey behaved very well, but Baker's row to Barbados ...'

'I'm glad to hear you say that. Lacey can go as Second in the Juno. Good training for him. So that leaves me La Comète, and I have a deserving young lieutenant to be made post into her. Very well, anything else?' he asked briskly.

'No, sir. I will leave my report. Oh yes, sir, there is. We have all La Comète's secret papers. And sir, if you felt that you could make a signal to the Diamond, sir ... The Juno battery, that's the one at the top, they have a signal mast rigged and a copy of the signal book ...'

'Damnation!' the Admiral exclaimed, 'I've forgotten all about the Rock. Four guns need thirty men or more, and we'll probably strengthen the place. It'll be a lieutenant's command. But how the devil do we arrange the paperwork, Edwards?'

'They'll have to be attached to a ship for pay, mustering, victualling and so on, sir.' He thought a moment. That schooner, sir, La Créole. If you buy her into the Service, the garrison of the Rock would be on her books. She could keep them supplied, too, because she's fast enough to get over to Barbados for provisions, and she can slip over to St Lucia for water ...'

Ramage said: 'Perhaps she could be renamed the Diamond, sir.'

'Capital,' the Admiral boomed. 'His Majesty's schooner Diamond . . . Sounds well. By the way, Ramage, who named the top battery?'

'The men, sir. They named all three batteries,' he added hurriedly. 'The middle one is named after my father, sir, not me,'