Ramage 18 - Ramage & The Dido by Dudley Pope

Author:Dudley Pope
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-04-26T23:00:00+00:00

Ramagenodded. 'It seems a long time ago. I still don't know how we captured it!'

'I don't know about capturing it: the miracle was how we swayed up those guns to the top.And how we captured theCalypso .'

'Well, we may have captured it, but it was retaken by the French because of the drunken antics of an officer long after we had gone back to England.'

'Yes, the loss of the Rock was a shameful business,' Southwick said. 'If we'd have held on to it we would have continued to control everything that tried to get into Fort Royal.'

'And we wouldn't have the present trouble either. At least, Admiral Cameron wouldn't. And we wouldn't be here.Curious how the wheel seems to have turned full circle. It's about time for us to recapture Diamond Rock.'

'I should imagine the French have a proper garrison there now,' Southwick said speculatively.

'Well, I'm certainly not going to try it,'Ramagesaid. 'Times have changed. What a young officer commanding a brig can do, and get away with, is different from the circumstances of a post-captain commanding a seventy-four and with definite orders in his pocket.'

Southwick put his telescope to his eye. 'I can just make out Cabrit Island,' he said. 'You'll remember that is the southernmost tip of Martinique. We'll soon be up to Fort Royal, and loosing off a broadside into Fort Louis. Ah,' he said sentimentally, 'it's quite like old times!'

Half an hour later, when theDido had hauled around to the north-west, a lookout hailed the deck to report a sail in sight in line with Diamond Rock, which it had just rounded.

Ramageimmediately sent Orsini aloft with a telescope, and the young Italian was soon shouting down that the sail was a brig, which had just altered course towards theDido.

Aitken, who had answered the hail, put down the speaking trumpet and said toRamage:'Didn't you say, sir, that there was one of our brigs patrolling off Fort Royal?'

'Yes, the admiral was grumbling that he had not got a frigate. Hoist the challenge.'

At dawn each dayRamageconsulted the little booklet given him by Admiral Cameron showing the challenge and reply for every day during the next three months, and he gave both to Aitken as soon as he came on deck. The brig-if she was British-would have a copy too, and it was the tradition that the challenge was the first signal hoisted, and if the correct reply was made then each ship hoisted the flags corresponding to her number in the List of the Navy. Thus, almost instantaneously, ships could discover a friend and know her identity.

The booklet containing the challenges and replies was the most secret on board: the penalty for letting it fall into enemy hands was at best a court martial, and in a bad case a captain could expect to be dismissed the Service. By contrast, letting the Signal Book fall into enemy hands, although a court martial offence, was less important: in the Signal Book every signal had its own number, and it was

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