Dead Reckoning by Parkinson C. Northcote Read Free Book Online

Popham’s ships had been damaged at the Cape—that much was known—but he would almost certainly have sent another and she would have had time to reach Canton before the change of the monsoon. He noticed, finally, that the sternmost Indiaman was half a mile from the next ahead. The convoy was under easy sail, as if ready to give battle, but that last ship was still unable to keep in station, being probably a dull sailer under an inexperienced master. Was that likely, though? Well, it was quite possible. The appointed master might be sick or might have died. The captain of the Charente, Jean Delisle, reported that this last Indiaman was poorly handled. His study of her, through the telescope, failed to reveal the fact that she was towing a sail astern. But Garnier, while accepting the laggard at her face value, was not quite certain about his chief opponent. Could she be a disguised Indiaman? Such a trick had been played before. In the final resort her real force could only be tested in action.
    At daybreak the situation was almost unchanged, the convoy moving slowly southwards, but the sternmost ship had dropped still farther astern and could be seen attempting to make more sail. A signal was being made from the man-of-war, enforced by the firing of a gun. Garnier decided to grasp his opportunity. Directing Delisle in the Charente to cut off the laggard, he himself made sail towards the British man-of-war, keeping the Romaine in his wake. Once the man-of-war was under fire, he could then send the Romaine to cut off the next two Indiamen. If he took only the three of them it would be a considerable success. Were the British man-of-war crippled, on the other hand, he could pursue the convoy for days, capturing the Indiamen one by one until Penang was reached. After their recent victory the British might well be complacent, not realizing that theFrench ships were gaining in efficiency. In the past there had been bad relations between officers of the old regime and men of the revolution. There was growing up, however, a new generation of seamen, men who had never known the old regime and who saw Napoleon as a more or less true successor to Louis XV. The Tourville was in very good order and the Charente was in some ways better. They were able to give a good account of themselves. The Romaine was only mediocre, although a very fine ship. One way and another, Garnier could see himself as a minor hero in the history books, one of the men who restored French morale after the recent setback. He was a small and excitable man, energetic and zealous, with a mop of curly, dark hair. He ordered his men to clear for action and then made a tour of the gun-decks, accompanied by fife and drum. He told the gun-crews that they had a chance now to strike a blow for the honour of France.
    Garnier was outwardly eager to report a success but inwardly anxious to avoid defeat. The last thing he wanted was a confused battle in which he would find himself surrounded by Indiamen. They might not individually amount to much but there were fifteen of them. His hope had been that they would scatter during the night but this was not their plan. They were still in line of battle under reduced sail, daring him to do his worst. It was plainly a situation in which fire should be opened at long range, using his heavy guns to best advantage. If the British man-of-war were counterfeit this would be apparent from her reply. Meanwhile, the Charente would make short work of the wretched Indianian so far astern of the rest. Garnier had Captain Peynier under him as captain of the Tourville, a nervous man who bit his nails and had a bad influence on his superior. The point to establish, he said, was whether their immediate opponentwas firing guns from her lower deck. If she were, the ship would be what she seemed to be, a third-rate of the smallest class. If she were not, their opponent could be classed as a merchantman, perhaps with a reinforced crew but no