The following January England had reeled from the news that the King of ' France had been beheaded by his own people, and before their minds could adjust to the shock the new French National Convention declared war. It was as if the fury of the whole French nation had shaken the country from the course of reason. Even Spain and Holland, old allies from the past,. had received the same declaration, and now, like England, stood awaiting the first real onslaught.

And so the old Hyperion had sailed again with hardly a pause in harbour. To Brest and the inevitable lot of the Chan, nel Squadron to blockade and watch over the French ships sheltering beneath the guns of the shore batteries.

Bolitho had continued with his task, his despair at not being given an aimediate command only helping to play fresh havoc with hi aealth.

Then as winter gave way to spring he had received his orders to pror.,,ed to Spithead and take passage for Gibraltar. As he sat in the stem of the gig he could feel the heavy envelope in his breast pocket, the authority to control and command this ship which now towered above him and reduced all else to insignificance.

Already he could hear the twitter of pipes, the stampede of bare feet and the clatter of muskets as she prepared to receive him. He wondered briefly how long they had awaited his ap. pearance, whether or not his arrival would be greeted with pleasure or misgivings.

It was one thing to take command from another captain who was leaving for promotion or retirement, quite another to step into a dead man's shoes.

The gig rounded the high bows and Bolitho stared up at the bright overhanging figurehead. Like the rest of the paintwork the figurehead's gilt looked fresh and clean, which was one small sign of a well-run ship. Hyperion the Sun God carried an out-thrust trident and was crowned with the rising sun itself. Only a pair of staring blue eyes broke the sheen of gold, and Bolitho found time to wonder how many of the King's enemies had seen that gilt face through the smoke and had died minutes later.