Cecil Forester: Hornblower and the Crisis

Hope came timorously to life one noontime; there had been disappointments before and, despite all the previous discussions, hardly a soul dared speak a word when, after a period of almost imperceptible easterly airs something a trifle more vigorous awoke, with a hint of south in it, backing and strengthening so that the sheets could be hauled in, with Baddlestone bellowing at the hands and the motion of the Princess changing from spiritless wallowing to a flatfooted advance, an ungainly movement over the waves like a cart horse trying to canter over wet furrow.

“What’s her course, d’you think?” asked Hornblower.

“Nor’east, sir,” said Bush, tentatively, but Prowse shook his head as his natural pessimism asserted itself.

“Nor’east by east, sir,” he said.

“A trifle of north in it, anyway,” said Hornblower.

Such a course would bring them no nearer Plymouth, but it might give them a better chance of catching a westerly slant outside the mouth of the Channel.

“She’s making a lot of leeway,” said Prowse, gloomily, his glance sweeping round from the set of the sails to the barely perceptible wake.

“We can always hope,” said Hornblower. “Look at those clouds building up. We’ve seen nothing like that for days.”

“Hope’s cheap enough, sir,” said Prowse gloomily.

Hornblower looked over towards Meadows, standing at the mainmast. His face bore that bleak expression still unchanged; he stood solitary in a crowd, yet even he was impelled to study wake and sail trim and rudder, until Hornblower’s gaze drew his glance and he looked over at them, hardly seeing them.

“I’d give something to know what the glass is doing,” said Bush. “Maybe it’s dropping, sir.”

“Shouldn’t be surprised,” said Hornblower.

He could remember so acutely running for Tor Bay in a howling gale. Maria was in Plymouth, and the second child was on the way.

Prowse cleared his throat; he spoke unwillingly, because he had something cheerful to say.

“Wind’s still veering, sir,” he said at length.

“Freshening a trifle, too, I fancy,” said Hornblower. “Something may come of this.”

In those latitudes heavy weather was likely at that time of year when the wind veered instead of backing, when it swung towards south from northeast, and when it freshened as it undoubtedly was doing, and when dark clouds began to build up as they were doing at the moment. The mate was marking up the traverse board.

“What’s the course, Mister?” asked Hornblower.

“Nor’ by East half North.”

“Just another point or two’s all we need,” said Bush.

“Got to give Ushant a wide berth anyway,” said Prowse.

Even on this course they were actually lessening the distance that lay between them and Plymouth; it was in a quite unimportant fashion, but it was a comforting thought. The horizon was closing in on them a little with the diminishing visibility. There was still a sail or two in sight, all towards the east, for no vessel made as much leeway as the Princess . But it was indication of the vastness of the ocean that there were so few sails visible although they were in the immediate vicinity of the Channel Fleet.

Here came a much stronger gust of wind, putting the Princess over on her lee side with men and movables cascading across the deck until the helmsman allowed her to pay off a point.

“She steers like a dray,” commented Bush.

“Like a wooden piggin,” said Hornblower. “Sideways as easily as forwards.”

It was better when the wind veered still farther round, and then came the moment when Bush struck one fist into the palm of the other hand.

“We’re running a point free!” he exclaimed.

That meant everything in the world. It meant that they were not running on a compromise course where as much might be lost or gained. It meant that they were steering a course direct for Plymouth, or as direct as Baddlestone’s calculations indicated; if they were correct leeway had now become a source of profit instead of loss. It meant that the wind was a trifle on the Princess ’s quarter, and that would almost certainly be her best point of sailing, considering her shape. It meant that they were getting finally clear of the coast of France. Soon they would be well in the mouth of the Channel with considerable freedom of action. Finally it had to be repeated that they were running free, a fantastic, marvellous change for men who had endured for so long the depressing alternatives of lying to or sailing close hauled.

Someone near at hand raised his voice; Hornblower could tell that he was not hailing, or quarrelling, but singing, going through an exercise incomprehensible and purposeless for the sake of some strange pleasure it gave. ‘From Ushant to Scilly is thirtyfive leagues.’ That was perfectly true, and Hornblower supposed that circumstances justified making this sort of noise about it. He steeled himself to a stoical endurance as others joined in, ‘Farewell and adieu to you, Spanish ladies’. It was very noticeable that the atmosphere in the Princess had changed metaphorically as well as actually; spirits had risen with the fall in the barometer. There were smiles, there were grins to be seen. With the wind veering another couple of points, as it did, there was a decided probability that the evening of next day would see them into Plymouth. As if she had caught the prevailing infection the Princess began to leap over the waves; in her clumsiness there was something almost lewd, like a tubby old lady showing her legs in a drunken attempt to dance.

Yet over there Meadows did not share in the mirth and the excitement. He was isolated and unhappy; even the two officers who had been next senior to him in the Hotspur —his first lieutenant and his sailing master — were over here chatting with Hornblower instead of keeping him company. Hornblower began to make his way over to him, at the same moment as a rain squall came hurtling down upon the Princess to cause sudden confusion while the weaker spirits rushed forward and aft for shelter.

“Plymouth tomorrow, sir,” said Hornblower conversationally when he reached Meadows’ side.

“No doubt, sir,” said Meadows.

“We’re in for a bit of a blow, I think,” said Hornblower gazing upwards into the rain. He knew he was being exaggerated in the casual manner he was trying to adopt, but he could not modify it.

“Maybe,” said Meadows.

“Likely enough we’ll have to make for Tor Bay instead,” suggested Hornblower.

“Likely enough,” agreed Meadows — although agreement was too strong a word for that stony indifference.

Hornblower would not admit defeat yet. He struggled on trying to make conversation, feeling a little noble — more than a little — at standing here growing wet to the skin in an endeavour to relieve another man’s troubles. It was some small comfort when the rain squall passed on over the Princess ’s lee bow, but it was a much greater relief when one of the seamen forward hailed loudly.

“Sail ho! Two points on the weather bow!”

Meadows came out of his apathy sufficiently to look forward along with Hornblower in the direction indicated. With the sudden clearing of the weather the vessel was no more than hulldown at this moment of sighting, no more than five or six miles away and in plain view, close hauled on the port tack on the Princess ’s starboard bow, on a course that would apparently come close to intercepting the course of the Princess within the hour.

“Brig,” commented Hornblower, making the obvious conversational remark, but he said no more as his eye recorded the other features that made themselves apparent.