Ramage and the Dido r-18

by Dudley Pope

  'I'm glad you understand our position, sir,' Bennett said, his relief obvious.

  'What sort of frigate?'

  'It was too dark to make out many details. Flush deck, thirty-two guns - that was about all we could see. I came south to report as soon as we spotted her.'

  'Very well,' Ramage said cheerfully. 'Go back to your station - no sign of the Achille stirring, I suppose?'

  'No sir, no sign at all.'

  'Well, keep a sharp lookout: the frigate might have some news that means she puts to sea.'

  'Aye aye, sir, I'll stay in really close.'

  'Keep clear of that big reef on the east side of the Passe du Carénage - what do they call it? Oh yes, the Grande Sèche. I always think that Nature put it there specially to protect the eastern side of Fort Royal.'

  Bennett returned to the Scourge, and as soon as the boat was hoisted in the brig let her foretopsail draw and headed back up to the north.

  'So a French frigate sneaked past us during the night,' Southwick grumbled. 'Well, no moon and a dark night, and our lookouts must have been asleep. Still, give the devils their due: as you said, sir, it was a good piece of seamanship. What's he up to, though?'

  Ramage said: 'He brought the French the news we've been waiting for: the convoy is near. Anyway, that's my guess. And I think we'll see the Achille cross her yards and get ready to sail.'

  Southwick rubbed his hands together thoughtfully. 'Yes, if the Achille gets ready for sea we'll know that's why the frigate came in. But she may be bringing despatches. Fresh orders for the governor, perhaps. Might be something as mundane as wanting water.'

  Ramage nodded and said: True, it might be only one of those things. But the only reason for the Achille to be waiting here in port is to be ready to escort a convoy in, and the only way she would know where to meet the convoy was if a frigate came ahead and warned her - gave her a rendezvous, in fact.'

  Southwick gave one of his sniffs, this time an approving one. 'Yes, that makes sense. But is the frigate going to sail again at once, without waiting for the Achille?'

  'I should think so.'

  'What about getting out to sea and intercepting the convoy, sir?' Aitken asked.

  'It's hopeless trying to find a convoy out there. The point is it has to come round Cabrit Island to get up to Fort Royal, and that's the obvious place to wait for it. And with a bit of luck the Achille will go out that way too, to the rendezvous.'

  'Ah yes,' said Southwick, 'if we wait at the eastern side of Cabrit, out of sight, we may catch the Achille napping.'

  'Exactly,' Ramage said. 'Just as the damned frigate caught us napping. There's no point in waiting off Fort Royal - if the convoy got up that far, some of the merchantmen might be able to bolt in.'

  Daybreak was a repeat of the previous day: the lookouts had been sent aloft and Ramage and Aitken were on the quarterdeck, talking about the day's work, when there was a hail from aloft. Aitken grabbed the speaking trumpet and answered, and the shout came back that the brig was approaching them from the north.

  Ramage had a sudden sick feeling he knew why. 'Send Orsini aloft with a bring-'em-near; she may be flying a signal.'

  By chance the Dido was heading north towards the brig, and they were approaching each other at a combined speed of nine or ten knots. By the time Orsini had grabbed a telescope and made his way up the ratlines, it was getting lighter, and he was soon hailing the quarterdeck.

  'She's flying a signal, "Frigate sailed in night".'

  Ramage cursed and told Aitken: 'Acknowledge. Tell him to resume his patrol.'

  Aitken gave the orders and said: 'Does that mean we missed him a second time, sir?'

  Ramage was not sure. The officers of the deck had been given orders to make sure that the men kept a sharp lookout: the Dido had moved further north to patrol off Cap Salomon. The brig was patrolling close in off Fort Royal. There seemed to be only one explanation of how the frigate had eluded the Dido.

  'I don't think he came this way. If he knew we were down here - and they would have warned him - then I think he made a bolt for it to the north: he had the current to help him and it is a far easier passage.'

  And, Ramage thought to himself, apart from my own feelings, Admiral Cameron is not going to be very pleased that this damned frigate has fooled us twice - made us look silly on successive nights. Now he knew he should have moved further north, doubling up on the brig. Now he knew that. But being wise twelve hours too late was the same as not being wise at all. He had to face the fact that the French frigate had hoodwinked him not once but twice. The first time could be put down to the Frenchman being unexpected; the second just showed that Ramage was unprepared.

  Southwick arrived on the quarterdeck, and Aitken told him about the brig's signal. Southwick gave a rueful laugh, and said to Ramage: 'I can imagine you getting in and out of a port that the French were blockading. But to have them doing it to us . . .'

  Ramage laughed as well, though there was little humour in it. 'Yes. that Frenchman caught us napping twice running. We've got to make sure that the Achille does not make it three times. We can't rely on the brig.'

  'No, it's hard to know if young Bennett isn't up to the job or just plain unlucky: being in the wrong place at the wrong time.'

  'He said he was going to get close in with Fort Royal,' Ramagesaid. 'Either he was not close enough or he chose the wrong place.'

  'He couldn't have stopped the frigate actually sailing,' Southwick said placatingly. 'He could only have raised the alarm.'

  'Yes, I was just mentioning to Aitken that she may have bolted out to the north.'

  'Aye, well, the Achille might go the same way.'

  'That brings up the next problem: do we try to intercept her on her way out to meet the convoy, or when she escorts it back?'

  'Does it make any difference?' asked Southwick.

  'Yes. We have two advantages over him when he's escorting it back. He's tied to the convoy's course and speed, and he has to come in round Cabrit Island.'

  'Yes, but he'll be reinforced by a frigate or two - maybe another ship of the line: who knows, the French might be determined to get this convoy through, and have given it a big escort.'

  'In that case,' Ramage said wryly, 'we are going to be bustling about, but whatever the escort, they'll be coming round Cabrit Island.'

  'You don't think they'd risk coming north-about, guessing we'd be waiting off Cabrit?'

  'No, they daren't risk the whole convoy losing the wind and being carried off to the north by the current. It was different for that frigate - the northgoing current would help him. But I can't see those merchant ships making a couple of knots to windward in light airs.'

  'No, sir,' Southwick agreed. 'They'd be colliding with each other, especially if they were trying to get in at night.'

  'I can't see them attempting it at night,' Aitken said. 'The French merchantmen must be as mulish as the British, and we'd never risk it.'

  'No,' said Ramage, 'it will be south-about. By the way,' he told Aitken, 'you can fetch Orsini down now.'

  If the frigate had brought news of the convoy, Ramage told himself, then the Achille must be making ready for sea. And that was a good point that Southwick had made - that the convoy might have another ship of the line with it. To let the Achille join the convoy meant making sure of having to tackle two ships of the line at once. If he could deal with the Achille before she joined the convoy . . .

  What about going north to look at the Achille this afternoon, to see if she had swayed up her yards? He could rely on the brig to warn him, but he admitted he would feel happier if he had a look himself. Would the Dido's sudden appearance off Fort Royal alarm the Achille, or warn her what she might expect if she ventured out? Ramage doubted it: the French would know, from lookouts on the coast, that the Dido was round the corner, so it should not make any difference.

  Well, what was he going to do, go for the Achille on the way out or on the way back? He needed to make up his mind. The prospe
ct of another ship of the line with the convoy finally decided him.

  By late afternoon the Dido was heading into Fort Royal with a brisk easterly wind knocking up white caps as she beat in towards Fort St Louis and the Carénage.

  Southwick, Aitken and Ramage were all watching the Achille with their telescopes. Finally Southwick said: 'She's as ready for sea as she'll ever be. There's no doubt that frigate brought her the news she's been waiting for.'

  'I wonder how far out the convoy is?' Aitken said, speculatively. 'Probably fairly close.'

  'Close enough for the frigate to leave it and return, giving enough time for the Achille to get out to it.'

  Southwick said: 'Why doesn't she sail now? She knows she's got to fight us, and a night action is always risky.'

  'These nights are dark: no moon yet. She might think she can dodge us - and she might be lucky!' Ramage said. 'If we sit hove-to off Pointe des Nègres she's going to have trouble getting past us - unless it's squally and she manages to dodge us in a patch of poor visibility.'

  Ramage looked round at the sky: the usual Trade wind clouds were coming off the island and the weather looked settled enough. 'Not much chance of squalls tonight,' he said. 'It looks as though the Achille is going to have to come out in clear visibility.'

  'We need some luck after missing that damned frigate,' Southwick growled.

  Ramage finally made up his mind. 'We'll wait off Pointe des Nègres, and the Scourge can watch to the south. Mr Aitken, I'll trouble you to hoist the brig's pendant and the signal for her captain.'

  After the brig had sailed in and hove-to a hundred yards to windward, hoisting out a boat, Lieutenant Bennett came on board, nervous as though expecting a broadside from Ramage for missing the frigate when she sailed during the night. But Ramage did not mention the episode. Instead he said: 'I am fairly sure the Achille will sail tonight. I am equally sure that she will try to get out to the northwards. I shall be waiting off Pointe des Nègres and I want you to watch to the south.

  'I'll be hove-to between the Banc de la Vierge and the Pointe, somewhere on the sixteen-fathom line. You can be waiting in your normal position. If you sight her under way, fire two white rockets if she is heading north, and three if south. And you shadow her as close as you can without her getting in a broadside. Set off a false fire at five-minute intervals, so we know where you are, and burn two if there's a radical change of course.'

  'What if she attacks me, sir?' Bennett asked.

  'You either dodge her or you get sunk,' Ramage said drily. 'But try to shadow her from astern. She might loose off her sternchase guns, but you won't have much to worry about after the first round: the muzzle flash will blind the French gunners.

  'Now don't forget,' Ramage said. 'Two white rockets mean he's going northwards and three south. False fires at five-minute intervals and two together for a radical change of course. Do you want me to give you that in writing?'

  'No, I can remember it, sir,' Bennett said, showing a sudden surge of confidence, as though listening to Ramage had made him more sure of himself.

  Bennett returned to the brig, which went back to her patrol line, where she would wait until twilight before returning close in to the Passe du Carénage.

  Southwick sniffed. 'I wish I could make up my mind about that lad,' he said. 'One minute he seems confident enough and the next he seems too nervous.'

  'I think he expected trouble over that frigate,' Ramage said. 'From his point of view it was entirely his fault.'

  'Aye, and if you weren't the man you are, your report to the admiral would say so.'

  Ramage shrugged his shoulders and laughed. 'Well, it wasn't so long ago I was commanding a brig. Perhaps I feel sorry for him.'

  Southwick shook his head. 'I hope you're not going soft, sir!'

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Twilight turned to darkness with the suddenness for which the Tropics are notorious, and the Dido hove-to a mile from Pointe des Nègres, her bow heading into the cliffs which lined the shore.

  The Pointe itself stuck out to the south-west like a stubby tail, cliffs right to the narrow end. At one mile Ramage could, with the nightglass, just make out the blacker blur of the land, but he was not sure he would be able to distinguish a ship. The Achille, coming out of the Baie du Carénage, would have to sail south for more than half a mile before turning north-west so that she avoided the shallow Banc du Fort St Louis. But what would she do after that if she intended making a bolt to the north - follow the land round to Pointe des Nègres, or head out to the west to make an offing before turning north?

  If she went out to the west and the Scourge was not following her and burning false fires, the Dido would miss her: Ramage was betting that she would keep close to the land. The Achille had plenty of choices. She could come out to the south-west before turning north-west: an arc of some three miles which the Dido could not hope to cover. Did young Bennett realize how much depended on him? It was probably a good thing if he did not: he might get so nervous that his judgement was affected.

  'How many lookouts do we have?' Ramage asked Aitken.

  'Eight, sir: two extra ones. One on the starboard bow, one aft on the starboard side.'

  'We'll beat to quarters now. If they sailed as soon as it was dark they could be along here within twenty minutes or so, and it takes us fifteen minutes to get to general quarters.'

  Aitken gave the order and in a couple of minutes the two Marine drummers were striking up. Once again, even though it was dark, Ramage was reminded of an anthill being stirred up as the men hurried to their positions. They would be loading the 32-pounders, which had a range of 2,080 yards, and the 24-pounders, which could fire a shot 1,800 yards, while the 12-pounders could manage 1,500 yards. Nor were the shot insignificant - the 32-pounders were 6.1 inches in diameter, the 24-pounders 5.6 inches, and the 12-pounders were a comparatively modest 4.4 inches.

  So much for the figures, Ramage thought. The problem in a night action was the muzzle flash: it blinded the gunners and half-blinded and certainly confused the officers on the quarterdeck. In fact night actions were very rare: the problem of judging distances and aiming the guns properly made most captains, British and French, avoid them if they could. In fact the Achille was almost certainly sailing at night because her captain thought it was the best way of avoiding an action with the Dido: he was relying on the Dido's reluctance to fight as much as the chance of dodging her in the dark.

  Ramage heard the rumble of the carronades being run out on their slides and could imagine Orsini's excitement: his first night action in a 74-gun ship. There was, Ramage had to admit, something awe-inspiring about taking such a big ship into action. There was 200 feet of ship from figurehead to taffrail, 24,000 square feet of canvas aloft, and the ship weighed about 2,800 tons . . . yes, the figures were impressive enough, and it was important to realize that they applied to the Achille as well. And when they came to fight each other, both the giants could be blinded by the gun flashes . . .

  When Aitken reported the starboard side guns loaded with roundshot and run out, Ramage told him to do the same thing with the larboard guns. 'But tell the guns' crews to stand by the starboard guns when they've finished; I have a feeling that we shall be engaging to starboard.'

  In the darkness the deck forward of the mainmast looked curiously empty: all the boats had been hoisted out and were towing astern, so that random shot did not shatter them on the booms and send a shower of lethal splinters across the deck.

  Guns loaded and run out: the ship ready for battle. Now was the time to strip the ship down to fighting canvas. The Achille would probably come into sight with every stitch of canvas set as she hurried to the north, but she would be unhandy, and Ramage was sure he was not going to get caught in the same trap.

  'Take in the topgallants, Mr Aitken.'

  Aitken began shouting orders through the speaking trumpet. It would mean that topmen would have to leave the guns, but the main thing was that the guns were now loaded and ready to
fire.

  As soon as the topgallants were furled on the yard Ramage gave the order to furl the courses. With the Dido down to topsails she was now reduced to fighting canvas. All she needed, Ramage thought grimly, was someone to fight.

  There were now more clouds than usual and they hid the stars, making it a dark night. It was just possible to distinguish the cliffs at Pointe des Nègres, but there was no sign of the horizon to seaward. They would probably - though not certainly - spot the Achille if she passed between the Dido and the land, but if she passed to seaward, Ramage estimated, they would miss her - unless the Scourge was shadowing her. Everything was beginning to turn on the brig, and Ramage wished he had more trust in Bennett.

  Aitken said: 'It seems an especially dark night. We could do with a bit of a moon.'

  'Yes - new moon tomorrow, although it sets so early it wouldn't be much use.'

  'This cloud may clear away,' Aitken said hopefully. 'Then we'd get a bit more help from the starlight.'

  'There's not much chance of that. If it hasn't gone by sunset it usually means it's here for -'

  He broke off as a white rocket curved up from where he knew the Scourge was waiting. 'One . . . two . . .' he paused for a few seconds, '- he's coming northwards!' Ramage said jubilantly. 'Now for the false fires!'

  He began to feel guilty for having doubted Bennett: it looked as though the brig was going to do her job successfully. And, three minutes later, as if to emphasize the point, she set off the false fire and in the eerie blue glow Ramage was sure he could distinguish the outline of the Achille, showing that the brig was shadowing closely.

  'There she is!' Southwick exclaimed excitedly. 'I just saw the sails: a couple of hundred yards or so due east of the brig.'

  'I thought I saw something with the naked eye: you have the nightglass.'

  'I've lost her now the false fire has gone out. It seems even darker just there. By Jove, that is her; I can just make her out.'

  'The Scourge should be setting off another false fire in five minutes, so don't worry if you lose her. Did you get any impression of where she's heading?'