Mountsteven handed him a flask and said, 'I've put a good lookout to watch for the ship, sir. The marines will prevent any attempt to move a cannon from the town to fire on her.'
Bolitho held the flask to his lips and felt his eyes water as the raw brandy burned his tongue. So much depended on Rivers. Given time he could move his heavy battery to another wall where with ordinary shot he could pound Achates to fragments. With heated shot he could achieve it in minutes.
It was as if the whole island was unwilling to wake, to enter the new day. He doubted if Rivers had had much sleep, wherever he was.
He looked round as somewhere a cock crowed defiantly in the damp air.
The third lieutenant scrambled down the slope and said breathlessly, 'They're moving artillery in the fortress, sir. I put a picket as close as I could.' He too took the flask from the other lieutenant and raised it to his lips. He grimaced and added, 'But the gates are still shut.'
Bolitho nodded, his mind grappling with such frugal intelligence. Rivers must be regaining confidence, whereas the first excitement of the landing and breaking the boom was already fading with the dawn.
Bolitho stood up carefully and wiped his face with his sleeve. What a wretched situation it was. People in England would question the need for men to die for such a cause when the French would gather all the spoils anyway. He cursed angrily and knew he was thinking only of himself, of his hopes for a future with Belinda. No wonder youthful lieutenants like Mountsteven and Scott eyed him with some curiosity. He should have known, have remembered his own service as a lieutenant. Then he had never considered the personal problems of his superiors, their wives, or that they might be as apprehensive as their subordinates when the time came to fight.
He shook the mood aside like an old cloak. To live without Belinda would be unbearable. But to live without honour would be beyond him.
There was a startled challenge from the waterside and Bolitho heard Allday's voice, hushed but fierce as he retorted, 'It's me, you blind fool! Hold your noise or I'll spit you, so I will!' He stumbled down the slope and peered uncertainly at the three officers.
Bolitho smiled. 'You performed a miracle. It was well done!'
Allday seemed to realize that one of the dishevelled shapes was Bolitho and bared his teeth in the gloom. 'Thankee, sir.'
Scott said, 'Thought you might have run into a guard-boat, Allday.'
Allday looked at him as if to consider if a mere lieutenant was worth his attention, then said,' We did, sir.' He drew his hand across his throat. 'No bother at all.'
The violent crash of a single cannon made several of the men gasp with surprise. Birds rose screaming and squawking in pale clouds from land and water alike, and as the sailors watched the smoke drift from the ramparts they all heard the unmistakable thud of a direct hit.
Bolitho fastened his sword-belt and snapped, 'They've found Achates.'
As if in answer to his words there was a swift response from the direction of the town. Musket fire for the most part, and then the sounds of horses clattering along a road.
Rivers' militia intended to attack them before they had found their proper bearings on the island, while a re- sited battery would concentrate on the anchored ship.
Bolitho said, 'Captain Keen will have to be quick. We must win him some more time.'
He peered round and noticed that already the landscape and the nearest huddle of seamen had grown sharper in the feeble light.
Mountsteven asked quietly, 'What do you intend, sir?'
'Flag of truce.' Bolitho saw his look of amazement and added sharply, 'Two volunteers, if you please.'
He tried not to flinch as the gun fired again. He did not hear the ball strike, but in a few moments the gunner would have his target in full view.
Allday said bluntly, 'One volunteer. I'm comin', sir.'
Bolitho walked from his patch of cover and faced the track which wound its way up to the fortress. A bluff? He had nothing else to offer.
With Allday breathing hard at his side, and the boatswain's mate, Christy, a step or so in the rear, Bolitho strode along the rough ground. Christy was carrying a shirt on a boat-hook as a flag of truce and was quietly whistling to himself as he followed his admiral. He had even managed to make a joke of the fact that the shirt belonged to one of the two midshipmen who were with the landing party. 'The only young gentlemen with one clean enough for the occasion,' as he had put it.
Bolitho was astonished that he could still raise a grin or two with his remark.
'Halt.' That's far enough!'
Bolitho stood quite still, the fortress looming over him like a grey cliff. He thought he heard a scrape of metal and imagined a marksman taking careful aim at him, white flag or not. Again he felt the same bitterness welling up inside him. Who would care? Hundreds, thousands of sailors and soldiers had died all over the world for one cause or another, but who ever remembered why?
He cupped his hands. 'I want to speak with Sir Humphrey Rivers!'
There was a derisive chuckle. 'Don't you mean parley, sir?'
Bolitho pressed his hands tightly to his sides. He had been right. Rivers was inside. Otherwise the unknown men above the gates would have said so, to mock him for his mistake.
Allday muttered, 'I'll give that bugger parley!'
'Oh, it's you, Bolitho! I thought we had some beggars at the gates, what?'
Bolitho found he could relax now that he knew Rivers was really here.
'And pray, what can I do for you before I take you and your ruffians into custody?'
Bolitho felt his heart pumping against his ribs as if it was the only part of his body still able to respond. Surely the light was brighter? But for the storm the whole fortress would already be visible.
Somewhere beyond the wall he heard a man yell, 'Ready to fire, sir!'
But Rivers was enjoying himself. 'A moment longer, Tate! I must hear the gallant admiral's request.'
Bolitho said in a whisper, 'They cannot shoot while Rivers is there. The ship is in direct line with him.' He raised his voice again, 'I ask you to hold your fire and stand down your men. You have no chance of defeating us, and your people must know full well of the consequences for their actions against a King's ship.'
He tried to picture his words being passed from man to man behind that wall. But they were all islanders, and probably little better than pirates in times of war, although the more sensitive term 'privateer' had made their trade almost legal.
Rivers shouted angrily, 'God damn you, Bolitho! You had your chance, now you shall pay dearly for your bloody arrogance!'
Bolitho blinked as a shaft of bright sunlight pierced the ramparts of the fortress's central tower and laid bare the hillside behind him.
Bolitho heard some of the seamen calling from their hiding places and guessed the sun had also uncovered the anchored two-decker.
Rivers' voice rose higher still as he shouted, 'There's your target, lads! Make every ball tell. That captain is a bigger fool than his admiral!'
Bolitho turned very slowly and looked across the water to the white houses and the cluster of moored vessels. He found that he could ignore the chorus of jeers from Rivers' men as he saw what Keen and his depleted company had achieved in complete darkness. The long cable which had been run out to a mooring buoy from Achates' stern held the ship motionless, so that her whole broadside was exposed to the fortress battery. Keen had converted the ship from a living creature to a moored double battery. One side faced the town, the other commanded the anchorage and anything which tried to enter or leave. No wonder Rivers had mistaken their intentions.
Rivers yelled, 'I have a force of mounted men coming to deal with you, Bolitho. Your disgrace and ignominy after this reckless escapade will put paid to any future assaults on my islands
Bolitho could see him framed against the washed-out blue sky, could feel the loathing in the man like something solid. He saw smoke rising lazily above the grey stones and knew they were heating shot to destroy Achates. There was no more time to spare.
He called, 'I shall return to my men, Sir Humphrey…' He felt a nerve jump in his throat as he heard the far-off but familiar rumble. This time he dared not turn, dared not take his eyes from Rivers' silhouette as the muffled sound suddenly ceased.
