'She's steering for us, every stitch of canvas set, and another sail just astern of her!'
Two frigates. Paolo shrugged his shoulders; there was a limit to what one's brain could accept. He turned to Rossi.
'As soon as Mr Aitken acknowledges, hoist 'Two strange sail'.'
'Mr Aitken has already acknowledged the first signal, sir.'
'Mama mia! Then make the second', Paolo said impatiently, but Rossi did not move. Instead he was looking up at Baxter.
'Deck there!' the man hailed.
'Deck here', Orsini answered wearily.
'The first sail is a frigate, sir, and the second is a tartane.'
'Very well', Orsini said and as he turned to Rossi he said: 'Give me the signal book - I don't think the French have a signal for 'tartane'.' As Rossi handed him the handwritten sheets which had been sewn together to make a book, Orsini knew his hands were shaking, but he was surprised that Rossi should be grinning at the fact.
As he began to look through the signals Rossi murmured in Italian: 'Sir - a frigate and a tartane ... you remember!'
The Calypso and the Passe Partout!Accidente! Paolo glanced round at the other ships and then began giving helm orders: Captain Ramage would expect the convoy to be in regular order by the time the frigate and tartane caught up.
