The King`s Coat

Bales he had had the ship properly cleared for action, though their chase might be a mere smuggler and not a privateer or warship. He was taking no chances, and Lewrie approved. Their captured schooner fell in line-astern far back, so loaded she was barely able to stay in sight.

Water and cheese and biscuit was brought up to the gun crews as they stood easy for a cold dinner with the galley-fire extinguished. Lewrie stood in the waist of the ship by the main'; mast, idling on the jear bitts and chewing his dry dinner. The cheese was a navy-issue Suffolk, more like crumbling rock than cheese. Giving up on making a meal on it, he brushed his hands and stood on the jear bitts for a better view.

The brig was now well hull-up, perhaps a league off and still being overhauled. Lewrie imagined that she was badly laden besides being heavily loaded. Her bow seemed to slough and make a large wave even with her forecourse spread taut for its lifting effect. Had her bow ridden higher, lessening her resistance, she might have made a knot more. And as low in the water as she looked, her shallower draft would be of no avail in the maze of islands ahead to the nor-nor' west, where she could normally expect to lose the frigate with her deeper draft. ’Got a good view, Mister Lewrie?' Treghues asked, hands behind his back and staring up at him as he paced the gun deck to inspect his hands. ’Aye, sir.' Lewrie climbed down to doff his hat. 'Learning anything?’

‘Aye, sir. She draws a foot deeper forrard,' Lewrie said. 'He'll have to shift a pair of guns, or some cargo, or he's ours before two hours pass.’

’Indeed,' Treghues said, shocked to hear such talk from a midshipman. 'But he can always get a favorable slant of wind. Get into those islands.’

’Aye, he could, sir,' Lewrie persisted. 'But the Trades hereabouts drop off around the First Dog, sir, and he's too deep to risk shoal water. We're balanced, more sail aloft and have a longer waterline,' Alan vowed, preening a bit. ’So you are confident.' Treghues smiled, using the moment to put life into his crew. ’That I am, sir.’

’We'll have him, lads. Our new midshipman believes so, so we must, eh? A little more gold in your pockets would not go amiss.' Treghues passed on to trade joshes with the quartergunners, mostly of the squire-to-tenant 'how do your sheep keep, old, un' variety with the expected reply of bright smiles and much tugging of forelocks, leaving Lewrie abashed. He had tried to make a good impression on the captain concerning his skill and nautical knowledge so that he would think of him as competent and equal to Forrester, but now he was the silent butt of the crew's humor.

Goddamn him, Lewrie fumed, busying himself with looking at train tackles; I didn't deserve that.

Before another hour had passed, the brig wore to larboard slightly and opened fire at extreme long range with a sixpounder gun, the ball dropping far short but good evidence of her intent to fight.

I'd get the stuns'ls in, Lewrie thought, peering aloft. If I were the chase I'd wear hard onto the wind, lay her full-and-by to the nor' east and beat up toward St. Barts. Maybe gain a league before we got ourselves sorted out… A Molly or not, he had to give Lieutenant Kenyon credit for a superb education in ship-handling and how to draw out a stern chase, as they had once off Anegada, pursued by that privateer. ’Bosun, hands aloft and take in stuns'ls,' Treghues called 'Mr. Gwynn, stand by to try your eye with the number one gun.’

Desperate turned off the wind, as master gunner Gwynn fussed over his foremost starboard cannon. Once the quoin was out and he was satisfied, he put up his fist and stood clear, looking aft. Treghues must have waved to him, because the linstock came down to the firing quill in the vent, and the gun lurched inboard with a flat bang. The ball splashed short but directlYlin line with the brig's bowsprit. The brig responded with a full broadside of six guns, aimed high. Lewrie could hear the smt as it moaned overhead through the rigging. A sail twitched, a.

d a block and halyard snaked down to thud onto the larboard gangway. ’Stand by the starboard battery!' Alan looked aloft again. The stuns' I booms were still rigged out, though the sails were mostly furled. Now would be ~ time to wear, he thought grimly, and this broadside will be wasted. It's nearly five cables' range, anyway. This is just wh~t they want of us… ’As you bear… fire!' Treghues shouted.

The guns began to belch and roll back to the extent of the breeching ropes, and the well-drilled crews leaped on them tQ sponge out, to clear the vents and begin ramming down fresh powder and shot.

Thought so! Lewrie told himself. The smuggler brig had hardened up her braces and sheets and was wheeling to present. her stem to them, wearing through at least ninety degrees to the. nor' east. ’Goddamn and blast the bugger,' Monk called out as though he had just had his purse cut loose, and Treghues chafed him for blaspheming. ’Hands to train and sidetackles!' Lewrie shouted. 'Snug, em down tight and prepare to come about!' A second later that same command was shouted to them from Railsford on the quarterdeck. Waisters ran to the braces to cast them off the delaying pins while the forecastle captain prepared to heave on his heads'l sheets. But they had to wait until the men aloft had laid in from the yards after securing the stuns' Is, and the brig 280 Dewey Lmnbdm was gaining time to windward, no matter how the officers aft shouted for the topmen to speed their work. ’Hands wear ship!' came finally. 'Put yer helm down!’

‘Haul, you people, haul!' the bosun roared. ’Vast hauling and belay!' Desperate turned up into the wind as steady as a needle on a pin and settled on her new course. The chase was still on her starboard side, now settled just over their windward cathead, and had regained at least half a league of distance on them. It would take the frigate at least two more hours to beat up to windward against that more weatherly brig, at which point it would be near the start of the First Dog Watch. ’Gun crews, stand easy.’

Lewrie climbed onto the jear bitts once more to look to the suth'rd for their first prize. If Forrester had two brain cells to rub together he would wear onto the wind now, as soon as he saw what was happening. A schooner, even a loaded one, could go to windward much better than either the brig or Desperate, could cut the comer off and with even one gun manned, could threaten their chase into heading north once more.

There was no sign that Forrester had the requisite number of brain cells, for she plodded along for long minutes on her original course. A signal went up Desperate's mizzen, which went unseen. ’Blind fucker,' Lewrie muttered just loud enough for the nearest hands to hear. 'He'll not stand a chance now.' By the time the schooner came about she was not just downwind of the chase but downwind of Desperate as well. Desperate stood on for three hours before coming within range once more. The captain of the brig must have been a nacky man himself, because he hauled his wind to head due north, and as soon as Desperate began to parallel her course and open fire once again, he tacked, this time crossing the eye of the wind. He ducked out of the way of the broadside and headed off into the gloom of late afternoon to the sou-sou' east, back the way he had come. Forrester stood no chance even to get close. And the brig was not as unhandy on the wind as Lewrie had thought, for she pulled up half a point higher than the frigate, and was actually very slowly drawing away.

The hands were stood down from Quarters and the galley fire was lit. Lewrie looked at his watch. It would be dusk in forty-five minutes. They would stand to evening Quarters, then, without a prize.

This evening Lewrie was in what was left of the Second Dog Watch, so he left the gun deck and went up to the quarterdeck to stand by the wheel, where Monk and Treghues and Railsford were confening. ’Still so confident, Mister Lewrie?' Treghues said irritably. 'He was mighty crafty, sir,' Lewrie replied, searching for something safe to say to a captain who was livid inside. 'Most likely a Jonathan captain-’

‘What makes you think that?’

‘The French and the Dons don't handle ships that well, sir.

He may have been Dutch, but I doubt it. American-built brig with a rebel captain. She was smartly handled, sir.’

’Next thing you know, Mister Lewrie shall be giving us lessons in ship-handJing,' Treghues said. 'Jesus Lord.’

’I would not presume, sir.. ‘. ’Don't take that tone with me, young sir, or I'll have you bent over a gun before you can say Jack Ketch.. ‘. ’Aye aye, sir.’

’Get off my quarterdeck.’

’I'm in the watch, sir?' Alan quailed. ’Then get down to loo'rd and out of my face.’

’Aye aye, sir.’

Welcome back to the real Navy, Lewrie thought, gazing off to the north as it got darker. There was a spectacular sunset astern, all reds and golds and layers of clouds painted pink and amber and blue grey, and the seas were bright as glittering rubies. At least he could appreciate that without harm.

Lewrie idled his time until evening Quarters thinking about that brig. She would most likely run to windward until after full dark, then come about north once more, probably wear on a reciprocal course because she did not