A Dozen Bakers by Peter Youds

Author:Peter Youds [Youds, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bicorn
Published: 2018-03-16T04:00:00+00:00

Whether or not he genuinely believed that he had authority to act independently, Cochrane did what he could to prevent Gambier from realising what he had in mind and recalling him. Tom was no seaman, but he saw what the captain was about. Rather than setting sail and going straight for the enemy, he had eased the anchor off the sea floor – the cable still showing to any glass watching from the Caledonia – and the ship began to follow the tide slowly towards the enemy. It was clever, Tom thought, but this manoeuvre meant that Imperieuse was drifting stern-first towards a dozen enemy ships. Perhaps Cochrane hoped if they came under fire Gambier would feel obliged to send help. For their part, the French were frantically trying to get their vessels afloat. If they couldn’t believe their luck that the British fleet had so far done nothing, they clearly realised the situation could change at any moment. Attempts were being made to kedge the ships off the sandbanks, while those afloat eased to greater safety upriver.

‘Still he does nothing,’ Cochrane muttered, his eyes on Caledonia, not the French. ‘Very well then, set topsails!’

Now Imperieuse swung around and Tom realised that Cochrane had finished with any pretence. He was intent on going right at the French. In fact, he was planning to take on an entire enemy fleet with just a 38-gun frigate.

The captain caught Tom’s eye and gave him a smile. ‘Now or never, eh, Lieutenant?’

‘I suspect Lord Nelson might have thought similarly, sir.’

‘That is kindly put,’ Cochrane glanced back at Gambier’s fleet, appreciating the association with the great man. ‘We will have one last try, I believe. Signals: say, “The enemy is superior to the chasing ship, but inferior to the fleet. The ship is in distress and requires immediate assistance.” Very good, we’ll see if the old rogue has the brazenness to ignore that.’

The Imperieuse was approaching the French vessels. Tom glanced at his watch. It was just before two o’clock, almost high water. Several of the grounded ships were sitting almost upright now, ready to try to float off on the ebb. He looked back at the British fleet. It seemed that there was some activity at last, but only smaller vessels were moving forward. Cochrane’s suspicion that Gambier feared the shoals seemed well-founded. But now the captain had ordered his own ship to heave to, a spring on the anchor cable so that Imperieuse could swing around to offer her broadside to several different ships. Soon the first of the cannon were blasting away, Cochrane’s superbly trained crew running the 18-pounders in and out with impressive speed. In moments there was smoke everywhere.

Tom knew that, for all the bravery of Cochrane and his men, the big French battleships should surely be hammering the lone frigate. But he had seen the enemy throwing their cannon over the sides to lighten ship and he could imagine the crews were still jittery from the horror of the fireship attack.

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