"We'll need it, " Ramage said briefly. "Jackson! Four spokes to larboard! "

 It was hardly a standard helm order but it should be just enough, a quarter of a turn of the wheel. The Jocasta's stern was showing up black, like the end of a barn, with the Spanish name picked out in white paint (and probably a lot of gilt, too, but it was too dark to see that). And the masts, spars and rigging made a complicated but beautiful web of lace against the sky, like a Spanish mantilla.

 Ramage saw that dozens of men were lining the Jocasta's bulwarks, waiting for lines to be thrown. Dozens - a hundred or more and others streaming up from below. Many were running, but they were spurred on more by curiosity than orders.

 "Two more spokes! " he snapped. The Calypso's bow was abreast the Jocasta's stern; now level with her mizen. Men were shouting in Spanish from her quarterdeck. Now abreast her mainmast, and the ship was moving a little too fast.

 "Wheel hard a'starboard! "

 That would stop her; at low speeds the rudder put hard over acted as a good brake. And now the Calypso was precisely alongside the Jocasta, bow to bow, stern to stern, and he tried to keep the excitement out of his voice.

 "Bow line, brothers; pass a bow line! Aft there, get a stern line over. You there amidships - pass the after spring! Come on, brothers, look alive and get the fore spring across! "

 Every Spaniard on board the Jocasta seemed to be yelling at once and at least two men were bellowing through speaking trumpets. There must be a hundred voices within fifty feet, all shouting orders, advice and encouragement on how to get the Calypso safely alongside, and all ignoring the fact that she was already there.

 No sign of the Santa Barbara, although she was so small and the channel was in such deep shadow that her masts might not show up. The shouting on board the Jocasta seemed to be reaching a crescendo amidships, as though the captain was demanding to be allowed through.

 "Brother Southwick, " Ramage said, "I think we'd better join brother Aitken at the gangway, and form a welcoming committee. Brother Stafford, bring up some lanterns! "

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

 Three Spanish sailors carrying cutlasses leapt on to the Calypso's bulwarks, scrambled down to the deck and then stood round in a half-circle, looking rather sheepish as Ramage led a round of cheering. A moment later three officers followed them, led by a tall and gaunt man in the uniform of a captain.

 As soon as he was standing on the Calypso's deck the captain squared his hat, gave his swordbelt a twitch and looked around him. It was a slow, calculating stare, and although the last of the light had almost gone, Ramage sensed that the Spaniard had not missed much, the dirty, gritty decks, the untidy ropes, the dark stains on the planks ... At the moment he was obviously trying to determine which of the dozens of men standing round was the leader of the mutineers.

 "Que pasa?" he demanded.

 Ramage stepped forward and gave a clumsy salute which the Spaniard did not bother to acknowledge. "You speak English, sir?"

 "A little."

 "Well, sir, me and my mates . . . you see, we took the ship and -"

 Ramage stopped as Stafford and Rossi came up from below with lanterns, one in each hand.

 "Where j'yer want 'em, brother?" Stafford asked the Spaniard, the complete mutineer addressing everyone as his equal.

 The Spanish captain gestured towards the quarterdeck. "Aye, aye, sir! " Ramage said quickly, leading the way aft to the ladder. "Bring them up here, brothers."

 Rossi put one lantern on the binnacle and another on top of the capstan; Stafford put a third on the binnacle and continued holding the fourth.

 "Now, sir, " Ramage said in an ingratiating voice, "may I present the committee -"

 "Committee?"

 "Yes, sir. When we took the ship the men elected a committee. Three of us to run the ship. Make decisions, and things like that."

 "I understand. You are the leader?"

 "No, sir, there are three of us. Me - Nicholas Ramage, sir. And this here is brother Southwick, and here is brother Aitken."

 "This 'brother', I do not understand it. You have different names; how can you be brothers?"

 "It's a sort of... well, sir, " Ramage said, careful to keep the ingratiating note in his voice, "a greeting, like 'Mister', only it-"

 "I do not care for this 'brothers', " the captain interrupted. "I have taken command of this ship. What is her name?"

 "The Calypso, sir; she's French-built and -"

 "I want the ship's documents. Signal book, log . . ."

 Ramage held up his hands. "I'm sorry, sir, we couldn't save the papers -"

 "What happened to them?"

 "The officers, sir. You see, before we could take control, the officers - the First Lieutenant it was - threw the bag over the side."

 "What bag?"

 "The bag - a bag with a lead weight in it. The one they kept all the papers in. Sunk it, he did, before -"

 "Your men, " the Spaniard interrupted. "How many?"

 "Two hundred and four left, sir."

 "Show me round the ship."

 With that he gestured to Rossi and Stafford to pick up lanterns and began to walk round the quarterdeck. He inspected the binnacle, the capstan, the wheel and then the guns. He paused from time to time and Ramage saw how the sharp eyes noted the pieces of food in the scuppers, the grease spots on the deck, and then the barrel of rum and the mugs beside it. The Spaniard stopped by a bloodstain and told Rossi to hold the lantern lower, but he made no comment.

 Ramage cursed the lanterns: the light had destroyed his night vision, yet he had to know where the Santa Barbara was. The Spaniard had been on board about ten minutes - and already part of the plan was breaking down: apart from the three Spanish seamen and the two lieutenants, the captain had not brought more men on board. Ramage had expected that all the Spanish seamen from the Jocasta would stream on board the Calypso, where everyone was ready to seize them. The groups of British seamen apparently lounging around on the main deck were in fact all near piles of cutlasses; most of them had pistols and loaded muskets ready. But the Spanish seamen were still on board the Jocasta; it had not yet occurred to the Spanish captain that he must take control of the Calypso and the Jocasta’s men were - judging by those now idly spitting over the side and walking away from the bulwark - rapidly losing interest in the proceedings.

 Ramage sensed that at this moment he risked losing control of the situation. Because his plan for seizing the Spanish seamen had collapsed, the advantage could easily swing to the Spanish captain without the man realizing it. Surprise, he thought to himself; I must get this fellow off balance. He walked over to him and said insolently: "Sir, the men have not had their dinner yet."

 "They must wait."

 "But, sir, the committee agreed that all meals should be piped on time and -"

 "The committee! Caramba, I command now! Tell your committee that! I want all the men paraded here, now. Give the order! "

 If one part of a plan goes adrift, Ramage thought bitterly, another soon follows. The men must stay where they are; that was vital. The problem was that the Spaniard was too confident: Ramage had underestimated him. He should have sent his men swarming on board to take control the moment the Calypso came alongside, but instead he was walking round making a leisurely inspection by lantern light. And all the time the Santa Barbara was getting into position in the darkness and waiting; Wagstaffe was watching for the signal.

 Aitken was close and the Spanish captain was striding away towards the quarterdeck ladder, the gold lace on his uniform glinting in the light of Rossi's lantern. The three Spanish seamen remained on guard at the gangway.