There was a stunned silence, then excited babble broke out. Houghton grinned and straightened. "If you please, gentlemen, Sir Horatio will brook no delay. He intends to sail for Gibraltar in two days. I will not have Tenacious disappoint so you will bend every effort to ready her for sea. Carry on!"

The Rock of Gibraltar resolved from the haze like a crouching lion, dominating the vessels that drew up to its flanks to join the ships-of-the-line and frigates already there. As anchors plunged into a gunmetal blue sea, the thunder of salutes acknowledged the visiting Princess Royal as the flag of a senior admiral.

The ships came to rest and the slight breeze brought a smell compounded of sun-baked rock, goats, donkey droppings and Moorish cooking, which irresistibly took Kydd back to his service there in Achilles—and the adventures that had followed.

"I do believe it will now be granted to us to glimpse the grand panjandrum himself," Renzi said, looking at Vanguard, anchored a few hundred yards away. Kydd held back a reproof: his friend had been at the great battle of St Vincent and witnessed Nelson's achievements at first hand.

"Oh?" said Bampton. "Is he so much the swell he must parade before us?"

Kydd's colour rose at Bampton's tone.

"Not as I would say," Renzi replied. "Rather, I have heard he keeps a splendid table and is the most affable of hosts."

"Should you have seen him here a year or so ago in Minerve frigate you'd clap a stopper on y'r opinions," Kydd added, and recounted the daring escape of Nelson's ship from two Spanish ships-of-the-line. From the top of the Rock, Kydd had watched the whole incident. Nelson had bluffed the enemy by heaving to and, suspecting he was leading them into a trap, the Spaniards had sheered off. But the real reason for his action was that he had lowered a boat to rescue a man overboard.