Ship of the line by by C. S. Forester

Author:by C. S. Forester [Forester, C. S.]
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780316289368
Publisher: Boston : Little, Brown, 1985, c1938.
Published: 2010-11-08T08:00:00+00:00

"Set the ship on fire," said Hornblower. "Brown, take three men below and see what you can do there."

The late crew had got out a couple of oars and were paddling cautiously over to the towpath, the dinghy laden down to within an inch of the water's edge. Hornblower watched them as they crawled across, and climbed the bank to the path.

His picked crew did their work quickly and neatly. A mighty crashing from below showed that Brown's party was bursting into the cargo to make a nest for a fire. Smoke emerged almost at once from the cabin skylight; one of the men had piled the furniture there together, soused it in oil from the lamps, and got the whole thing into a blaze at once.

"Cargo is oil in barr'ls and grain in sacks, sir," reported Brown. "We stove in some barr'ls an' ripped some sacks open, sir. That'll burn. Look, sir."

From the main hatchway a thin ghost of black smoke was already rising, and the heat pouring up from the hatch made all the forward part of the ship appear to dance and shimmer in the sunshine. There was a fire in the dry timberwork of the deck just forward of the hatch, too. It was crackling and banging explosively, although this fire was hardly visible thanks to the strong sunlight and the absence of smoke, and there was fire in the forecastle — smoke was billowing out of the bulkhead door and rolling towards them in a sullen wave.

"Get some of the deck planks up," said Hornblower hoarsely.

The splintering crash of the work was followed by a contrasting silence — and yet no silence, for Hornblower's ear caught a muffled, continuous roaring. It was the noise of the flames devouring the cargo, as the increased draught caused by the piercing of the decks set the flames racing through the inflammable stuff.

"God! There's a sight!" exclaimed Brown.

The whole waist of the ship seemed to open as the fire poured up through the deck. The heat was suddenly unbearable.

"We can go back now," said Hornblower. "Come along, men."

He set the example by diving once more into the lagoon, and the little naked band began to swim softly back to the towpath. Slowly, this time; the high spirits of the attack had evaporated. The awful sight of the red fire glowing under the deck had sobered every man. They swam slowly, clustered round their captain, while he set a pace limited by his fatigue and unscientific breaststroke. He was glad when he was able at last to stretch out a hand and grasp the weeds growing on the towpath bank. The others scrambled out before him; Brown offered him a wet hand and helped him up to the top.

"Holy Mary!" said one of the men. "Will ye look at th' old bitch?"

They were thirty yards from where they had left their clothes, and at that spot the coaster's crew had landed. At the moment when the Irishman called their attention to them the old woman who had reviled them cast one last garment into the lagoon.

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