Colours Aloft by Alexander Kent

Author:Alexander Kent [Kent, Alexander]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Naval Fiction
ISBN: 9780425102640
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 1986-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

156 COLOURS ALOFT!

“Fire!”

The broadside thundered out again, and Bolitho heard some-one cheering, like a demented soul in Hell, he thought.

Allday exclaimed, “Her mizzen’s gone! She’s tryin’ to comeabout, to save her stern from the Smasher!”

Bolitho seized a glass and pressed it to his right eye. All thejokes about Nelson at Copenhagen were not so funny now. Hesaw the hazy outline of the French ship, shortening as Argonauteturned towards her, the bowsprit pointing directly at her poop.

The other captain had not regained control completely whenthe second broadside struck and raked his ship from bow to stern. Instead of continuing to turn, she was falling downwind, herafterpart shrouded in fallen spars and canvas, while here and therealong her battered side a few guns fired independently, and onher gangway tiny stabbing flashes showed that her marksmenwere fighting back.

“Steady as you go!”

Keen crouched down to peer through the pall of smoke andstraining rigging. The wind had risen; he had to hold the gageor lose all the advantage his attack had gained. He saw the water-lighter tilting over, spilling men and casks into the sea, the hullso pitted with holes it was a wonder it had taken so long. On theopposite, disengaged side, another harbour craft, a big yawl, hadcast off, and was probably trying to beat away from her big con-sort before she shared the lighter’s fate.

Keen made up his mind. “Mr Fallowfield, lay her on the star-board tack!” The Frenchman was still beam-on to the wind, herprogress further hampered by the trailing wreckage of spars andrigging alongside. The shattered lighter was sinking rapidly andhe realized that she was still made fast by the bow to the two-decker. Either they had not had time to cast off, or the men soordered had been scythed down by the last murderous broadside. But Keen had been in enough fights to know how quickly the

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