There was a clatter of cutlass blades. Were they fighting or tossing away their weapons?"

 "We surrender, " the voice said, "and I will lead the men up."

 Ramage turned to Aitken and said quietly: "They've surrendered and are coming up in a moment. Have the men with muskets stand by." With that he walked aft to tell Southwick, and then went up to the quarterdeck to collect his thoughts. Three shadowy figures followed him, and as he paused by the binnacle Ramage, startled for a moment, recognized them as Jackson, Rossi and Stafford, who had obviously appointed themselves his bodyguard. It was a sensible precaution; half a dozen desperate Spaniards could be lurking anywhere in the ship, and by now they would have recognized which of the disreputable-looking men was the leader.

 Gradually his night vision returned. The lanterns on the main deck were throwing a lot of light, but by facing aft he found he could first pick out the great black peak of Santa Fe, then the hills on either side of the entrance channel. Then he saw a grey patch, moving very slowly if it was moving at all. Gradually the patch became an outline, and he recognized the Santa Barbara lying hove-to.

 Wagstaffe was in position, the Jocasta had been captured, and the first half of the plan had succeeded. But it was the easier half; many a schoolboy had found to his cost that it was easier to climb up a tree than down.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

 Fifteen minutes later Ramage settled himself comfortably at the desk in the captain's cabin of the Jocasta and grinned at Aitken and Southwick, who were sitting on the settee sipping cups of coffee.

 "This is poor stuff, sir, " Southwick said, squinting in the lantern light. "These foreigners don't have the right quality beans to start with."

 "Aye, there's no body to it, " Aitken commented. "Still, we shouldn't be complaining, I suppose."

 "It'll make a tale to tell your grandchildren, " Ramage said. "We shan't be able to tell the Admiral because he wouldn't believe it."

 "I wouldn't blame him, " Southwick said after draining his cup and putting it down on the deck beside him. "'What did you all do after sailing into Santa Cruz with the Calypso and seizing the Jocasta?’ 'Well, sir, Captain Ramage found the Jocasta's galley fire was still alight, so he ordered hot soup for the men and coffee for the officers.'

 "'And pray, Mr Southwick, '" the Master added, giving a good imitation of Admiral Davis's voice, "'how did Mr Ramage justify wasting so much time, with two of the King's ships lying in a heavily defended enemy harbour?' 'Well, sir, Mr Ramage said it was much too dark for gentlemen to be blundering around the lagoon in frigates, so he scrapped his plans and sat down supping his coffee.' How does it sound, sir?"

 "Well enough, " Ramage admitted. "All we lack is the Marchesa serving us thin slices of cake! "

 "Aye, she'd enjoy all this."

 "However, " Ramage said, "I trust you'll tell the rest of the story! "

 "Oh yes, sir, " Southwick said airily, "but sticking too closely to the facts does wreck a good tale, you know. 'Well, ' I shall tell the Admiral (if he asks me), 'we'd seized the Jocasta without raising the alarm on shore, so Mr Ramage changed his mind: instead of sailing out with a fanfare of trumpets and bonfires lit along the sides of the channel to show us the way, we'd wait half an hour for the moon so that we could sneak out like guilty lovers.'"

 As Aitken sipped his coffee he watched Ramage. He was unshaven, his seaman's shirt bloodstained, his trousers torn and grubby, but there was no mistaking that he was the Captain. Put him in a line with a couple of hundred seamen, and you would know he was in command. Quite why it was, Aitken was far from sure. Eyes deep-set, cheekbones high, nose narrow and slightly hooked, mouth firm but quick to twist into a smile. You would pick him out on appearances, even though the stubble on his face and the tangled hair were great levellers and at least temporarily counteracted the hint of aristocratic lineage. Aitken liked the word lineage and was proud of his own, even though it contained no titles. Thomas Jackson, seaman, had as much lineage as Nicholas Ramage, heir to the Earldom of Blazey. The reason for the curious relationship between Captain and coxswain was probably that both men knew and acknowledged this without ever giving it any thought.

 The Captain sat in his chair, not exactly sprawling, but not sitting bolt upright either. Sitting comfortably - confidently was the word. Some captains needed well-pressed uniforms, formality, remoteness, the backing of the Articles of War, to create an atmosphere of authority round them, but most of them, however carefully they cultivated it, could not achieve what Mr Ramage did without realizing it, sitting back grubby and cheerful, a grin on his face as he teased Southwick.

 Aitken heard a faint call, answered from the gangway.

 "The boat's come back, sir. I'll make sure that Kenton found Wagstaffe and delivered your orders."

 Southwick looked at his watch as the First Lieutenant left the cabin. "Another fifteen minutes, sir. I do wish you'd let me land with Rennick and the Marines. There's no telling -"

 "Not again, " Ramage interrupted. "Rennick is competent and agile. He knows what to do. There'll be enough work for you on the way out. Anyway, you're no mountain goat, and you need to be one for the job I've given him."

 "Yes, sir, but -"

 "But you don't feel comfortable because the escape of two frigates probably depends on one lieutenant of Marines! "

 "Aye, sir, " Southwick said stubbornly. "That's the long and short of it."

 Ramage looked up as Aitken came back to report that Kenton had found the Santa Barbara and handed Wagstaffe his orders. He had waited until they had been read and reported that there was no message from Wagstaffe, who had understood everything perfectly.

 Aitken then waited a moment and said: "I wish you'd let me take half the prisoners in the Calypso, sir; I'm afraid they'll rise on you. You have fewer than a hundred men to work the ship and guard them."

 Again the First Lieutenant saw the teasing smile. "Don't disturb those poor Spaniards, my dear Aitken: they're crowded together under the watchful eye of four boat guns loaded with grape. If one prisoner so much as sneezes he risks having them all wiped out. Now, is everything ready on board the Calypso? Baker and Kenton have their orders?"

 "Yes, sir."

 "And you remember your own orders?"

 Aitken looked puzzled. "Well, sir, just to follow you out but to pass you and get clear of the entrance if you go aground."

 "Good. I just wanted to make sure you understood that you don't take any ships in tow."

 Aitken grinned cheerfully. "I understand, sir."

 At that moment the sentry reported that Mr Bowen was waiting to see the Captain, and the Surgeon came into the cabin, bloodstained and weary and holding a folded sheet of paper. Ramage saw him and stiffened, knowing that the Surgeon came to report the casualties.

 Bowen held out the paper but Ramage said as he took it: "Tell me how bad it is."

 "We were lucky, " Bowen said. "It could have been much worse. Five Calypsos dead and nineteen wounded."

 That, Ramage thought to himself, is the price of the Jocasta so far. Admiral Davis would regard it as cheap - almost unbelievably cheap. But Admiral Davis would read Bowen's list in a different way: to him the names of the dead would mean nothing. He would not recall faces and accents, habits and problems. Obviously the captain of a ship knew each man in his crew; obviously admirals were concerned only with totals - but it did not make it any easier to bear the fact that you have just been responsible for the death of five of your men, with others possibly maimed for life. And there was the enemy, too.