"It's a damned shame," Stafford said. "Such a beautiful lady she was."

CHAPTER SEVEN

Rear-Admiral Charles Rudd was extremely angry. "Damnation, Ramage, you let a couple of ships of the line slip through our fingers while you went chasing after a couple of frigates!"

"But sir, I could never have got here in time for you to send a force to take those ships."

"How do you know? You've no idea how long it took them to get seaworthy again. I'd been looking everywhere for those two. It was your duty to get here as fast as you could and warn me."

Ramage repressed a sigh. He had already described to the Rear-Admiral in both words and a written report the circumstances of the collision, and how he had considered and finally turned down the idea of making a dash for Naples to raise the alarm, knowing there was no time, but the Rear-Admiral could not get out of his mind the picture of two ships of the line locked together and helpless, just waiting to be captured.

It was hot in the cabin of the flagship; the Defender was lying at anchor in an airless Naples Bay, a 100-gun ship with two 74s nearby. Rudd, a thin-faced, morose man with a high-pitched voice, had greeted the Calypso's arrival with Le Tigre without enthusiasm. Almost his first words when Ramage had reported on board the flagship had been: "Let me have your written report." It was only after he had read the report and discovered about the collision between the two French ships that he had become enraged, vowing that his two 74s could have got to the French before they could have made themselves seaworthy.

The sinking of one frigate and the capture of another, even though the circumstances were fully described in the report, were dismissed as being of slight importance. Finally Ramage thought of a way to change the subject slightly.

"The prisoners I put ashore on the island of Capraia, sir: I doubt if there is nearly enough food on the island for them and the local people."

"I should think not," Rudd growled. "I don't know why the devil you landed all the prisoners there."

The remark was so stupid and unfair, in Ramage's view, that he made no comment: one could not argue with flag officers, at least not with this one, who seemed to be a singularly obtuse man.

Rudd's day cabin in the Defender, extending the width of the ship, was sparsely furnished. Either Rudd liked to live a Spartan existence or he was a poor man, unlucky where prize money was concerned. There were half a dozen chairs, a small table that showed he did not do much entertaining on board, a battered mahogany wine cooler which most flag officers would have scorned, regarding it as only suitable for the wardroom, and the curtains drawn back on either side of the sternlights were of heavy red velvet, well faded by sunlight.

The furnishings of the cabin, Ramage thought, were a clue to Rudd's attitude: he was a disappointed man.

Rudd tapped Ramage's report, which he was still holding in his hand. "I shall forward this to their Lordships, and I can tell you they won't like it. No, they won't like it a bit. They will consider-as I do - that you have not backed up your flag officer: instead, you have chased after prize money. Well, I warn you now, I may not buy in Le Tigre; she needs a great deal of repair, judging from your report, and I have next to no facilities here. So let that be a lesson to you: do your duty instead of chasing after prize money."

The remark was so obviously that of an embittered man that before Ramage could stop himself he said: "I don't need the money, sir."

"Ha, that's an old excuse! Where do you think your present command came from?"

"I captured it in the West Indies," Ramage said quietly, and Rudd gave a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Well, Ramage, you arrive here with a frigate and another one which is badly damaged, and a tale of four hundred prisoners abandoned on the island of Capraia. What am I supposed to do?"

Ramage realized that whatever he said would be wrong: the Rear-Admiral was still dazzled by the prospect of two French ships of the line locked together, just waiting for him to come along and capture them and pocket the prize money - and buy some new curtains, Ramage thought.

And why, Ramage thought angrily, if I can sink one and capture another French frigate in a morning, are Rudd's frigates and 74s spending their time at anchor in Naples Bay? Yet he knew that a junior post-captain expecting to be treated fairly by a new flag officer was whistling in the dark. Or, rather, singing to the moon.

"I suppose I have to collect those prisoners," Rudd continued. Then apparently not realizing the contradiction, said: "I'll need to send both my 74s if there are four hundred of them."

So, Ramage thought bitterly, two 74s are going to be sent to carry out a task that a few minutes ago you expected to be done by one frigate's ship's company . . .

"You'll forfeit the head money," Rudd said. "I'm not paying out for prisoners I have to collect myself."

"I don't know the statutes concerning head money, sir," Ramage said bitterly, "but I thought it was paid to the ship that captured the prisoners, not to the ship that simply transported them."

"Absolutely rubbish," Rudd said. "All you did was put them ashore on the island."

"I captured - indeed rescued from the sea - the men in Le Jason and certainly captured those in Le Tigre. The fact I put them ashore on Capraia doesn't alter the fact I captured them in the first place, sir."

"Don't argue with me," Rudd said brusquely, "there's no head money for you."

So the captains of the two 74s (presumably Rudd's favourites) would get the head money. Yes, it was unfair, Ramage thought; but this sort of thing happened when you had flag officers like Rudd. They would play favourites all the time. Favoured frigate captains could be sent to cruise in areas where they would be most likely to find prizes; frigate captains out of favour - or simply not well known to the flag officer - would be sent off escorting convoys, the most tedious and profitless task in the Navy.

Well, there was nothing he could do about it; Rudd was a rear-admiral and flag officer on the station; Ramage was, he realized, probably the most junior post-captain and certainly the latest arrival on the station. All it needed now, he thought grimly, was orders to escort a convoy to somewhere like Malta, or Gibraltar.

But Rear-Admiral Rudd was clearly considering something: his narrow and lined face was contorted with thought; he was gripping one thin hand in another, as though trying to twist off the fingers. Finally he said: "I'll send you with the 74s because you know where you landed the two groups of Frenchmen, and I don't want the 74s to have to comb the island for them. You won't take off any of the prisoners, so it won't affect the head money; you'll just act as a pilot."

Ramage said nothing; in due course he would be getting written orders and that would be that. He would pilot the two 74s to their head money, and no one would say thank you.

"I've heard about you," Rudd said unexpectedly. "You have quite a reputation in the Navy. Among other things, for not being very strict in obeying orders. I want to make it clear that while you serve on this station you obey both the spirit and the letter of my orders. I hope I make myself quite clear, Ramage."

"Indeed you do, sir," Ramage said politely. "Abundantly clear."

So now we get that too, Ramage thought: a flag officer jealous of a junior officer who had many of his despatches published as Gazette letters. The flag officers never considered that one had to da something in the first place, and publishing a despatch in the Gazette was up to their Lordships at the Admiralty: they were the people who decided which despatches were printed.