The Scourge came in sight just seven days after leaving for Barbados, and in reply to the signal for her captain, Lieutenant Bennett arrived on board the Dido just as the men were being piped to dinner.
He brought a letter from Admiral Cameron congratulating Ramage on the capture of the two frigates, and Bennett told him what had happened to the mangoes. It turned out that Cameron had served in India and knew the fruit well, and thought it a good idea to try to plant them in the West Indies. He was therefore planting half the trees in Barbados and sending the other half to Jamaica.
More important, as far as Ramage was concerned, the Scourge had brought back every man who had formed the prize crews for the Alerte and the Volage. As soon as Bennett told him this, Ramage gave instructions to Aitken to send the Dido's boats to collect them.
Ramage then gave Bennett his orders: he was to resume his patrol off Fort Royal, and the Dido would move further south, to cruise off Diamond Rock. If the Scourge saw any sign that the Achille was preparing to sail she should make the signal to the Dido, which would immediately move north to see what was happening. If, on the other hand, the Dido sighted a convoy coming round the south end of Martinique she would engage immediately.
Bennett had just left to rejoin the Scourge when Kenton and Orsini arrived back on board the Dido, both excited at being back.
'What sort of trip did you have in the Alerte?'Ramage asked.
'Fine, sir: she's a fast ship. Very like the Calypso. Her bottom was very foul, so she didn't go to windward too well.'
'Did you see Admiral Cameron?'
'Yes, sir. I gave him your despatch. He was delighted. He remembered that he had complained to you about the shortage of frigates, and made some joke about appreciating that you had listened to what he had said. He was very friendly, sir. And he knows about mangoes.'
'Yes, Bennett told me. Well, if the trees take well, perhaps we can sample the fruit the next time we go to Barbados.'
'We'll have to be out here for a long time, sir; I don't think those trees will fruit for two or three years.'
'A pity, mangoes are beginning to intrigue me. I hope they'll make a welcome change from pawpaw and oranges!'
'I'd give anything for a good apple,' Kenton said. 'You can't get your teeth into any of these West Indian fruits, they're far too soft.'
'Yes, it's a pity apples and pears don't grow out here. I've never understood why olives don't thrive, either: they grow in the hottest and driest spots in the Mediterranean, so I don't see why they don't grow here. After all, the Spaniards brought the orange here from Seville, and the banana from the Canary Islands. Who'd have thought they'd flourish in this climate?'
'By the way, sir,' Kenton said, 'the admiral is going to plant a couple of mangoes in his garden. He says he won't gain much by it but his successors will be grateful - providing the mango likes the West Indies!'
Shortly after dawn four days later Ramage was walking up and down the quarterdeck, soon after the lookouts had been sent aloft, when there was a hail. The Scourge was steering down towards them from the north, the lookout reported. 'What the devil does he want?' Kenton muttered, talking to himself.
The Dido was two miles to the westwards of Diamond Rock and the brig was off Cap Salomon, about four miles away, when she was sighted coming clear of the land.
Did Bennett have something special to report? Ramage wondered. That seemed the only explanation of why she would leave her cruising station, unless they were short of water, and wanted some casks from the Dido.
'We'll steer up to meet her,' Ramage told Kenton. The wind was light, from the east, the sea was calm, and it looked as if it was going to be a typical hazy July day, punctuated by showers and weak sunshine. July was almost always a rather depressing month, starting off the hurricane season. It was unusual to have fully fledged hurricanes this early; instead, at three- or four-day intervals, there were these days of plain dull weather, sometimes with a brisk wind but always the dull cloud scudding through from the east. It would be different in August and September, when this sort of weather could quickly turn into a hurricane, or at least a storm, and a ship had to find shelter or make an offing, well clear of land, where she could ride out the hurricane.
In less than half an hour the Dido and the Scourge were lying hove-to within a cable of each other and Ramage watched as Bennett was rowed over. The lieutenant was either in a great hurry or nervous at keeping the Dido's captain waiting, because the brig had hardly backed her foretopsail before a boat was being hoisted out.
By now Aitken and Southwick had come up to the quarterdeck, curious at all the activity.
'Water,' Southwick declared. 'He's short of water and wants us to give him some. He was too lazy to fill up his casks when he was in Barbados, which was the obvious thing to do.'
But Ramage was becoming less sure that water was the reason for the visit. Bennett would not have missed the opportunity of taking on water in Barbados - particularly since he could go alongside for it, instead of having to have the casks rowed back and forth.
Ten minutes later Bennett was saluting Ramage, his face troubled. Then he reported, the words tumbling out. 'Sir - a French frigate got into Fort Royal during the night! We sighted her there at daylight - in roughly the same position that the Alerte was.'
Bennett waited, expecting the tongue-lashing for having let the frigate get into port without sighting her. Instead Ramage said grimly: 'She got past both of us - more by luck than anything else, I suspect: she probably didn't even know we were here. And it's a good piece of seamanship to round Cabrit Island and then make your way up to Fort Royal in the dark.'
Bennett was still uncertain of himself. 'I'm sorry sir: she must have nipped in when we were at the northern end. Just chance. We'd have seen her if we were at the southern end.'
'You couldn't have done much about it,' Ramage said. 'Fired off some rockets and hoped we saw them, perhaps, but you'd have been hidden by the land unless we were well out.'
'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 prospect 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!'