Alan Lewrie 10 Sea of Grey by Dewey Lambdin

Author:Dewey Lambdin
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Publisher: Fred
Published: 2011-11-15T12:05:36+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

B y noon of the next day, Hancock and Bantam were out of sight in the South, and L'Oiseau was hull-under on her way to Port-Au-Prince to report her capture . . . and dump her hundred-odd prisoners on somebody else. And with any luck at all, Lewrie imagined that HMS Halifax and her irascible Captain Blaylock would become their gaolers, now that she was stripped of even more guns and would have bags of room below. It was piquant to picture Blaylock's phyz turning purple at that news . . . and, Lewrie further surmised, that Captain Nicely, who already despised Blaylock worse than cold, boiled mutton, would be more than happy for a chance to "slip him a bit of the dirty" one more time. And perhaps even think fondly of the officer who'd made it possible! Again, with any luck, Proteus might have L'Oiseau back as her "unofficial" tender within the week; and then they could really hit their stride!

The winds had backed a full point from Nor'eastly to Nor'east-by-East, as well. Proteus had loafed Sou'easterly after their meeting with Hancock during the night, closer to Cape St. Nicholas, so a "beat" close-hauled to the North-by-West could take them up to Matthew Town at the western tip of Great Inagua, where Proteus could once more keep an eye on both the Windward Passage and the Old Bahama Passage, before tacking and heading Sou'east for Tortuga. Then she could slowly zigzag her way Easterly between Turk's Island and Saint Domingue towards the tempting Mouchoir and Silver Bank passages, where arriving French merchantmen and privateers must appear, sooner or later.

"Mister Langlie, we'll stand in as close as we may to the Cape of Saint Nicholas before tacking," Lewrie announced.

"Claw us out all the ground you can to weather, before we come about to North-by-West."

"Aye aye, sir."

"Ah, now that is Monte Cristi, sir," Mr. Winwood pointed out as he fiddled with his charts at the binnacle cabinet,

"bearing, uhm. . . Sou'west-by-West. And to the East'rd . .

."

"Cape Isabella," Lewrie supplied, "which now bears, ah .

. . Sou'east-by-East, or thereabouts. I make it. . . eleven miles, if the chart is correct as to its height." He lowered his sextant and fiddled with it for a moment. "Then we are here, sir . . . nine miles offshore of Spanish Santo Domingo,

'twixt Monte Cristi and Cabo Isabella," Winwood opined.

"And the depths shown are still abyssal. First real soundings with a deep-sea lead don't begin 'til we're within the three-mile limit, Captain."

"Three miles, hmm," Lewrie muttered. "Mister Wyman, we'll haul our wind and stand due South, for a piece . . .'til Mister Winwood says we're near 'soundings.' After that, we will wear and reduce sail, to scud back along the coast towards Cape Francois and see what's stirring."

"Aye aye, sir," Wyman said, reaching for a speaking-trumpet with which to relay orders to the watch.

"And let's hope something is out of harbour, Mister Winwood." "Indeed, sir."

Lewrie's familiar old stomping grounds about

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