chintz covers?
He stared at the nearest gun, his eyes blurred witN strain. A woman's touch. Then he turned abruptly tQ face Tyrrell and Grave who had followed him into thO cabin upon his return from the crippled Miranda?
His mind was so filled with questions anX suppositions, his brain so wracked by the sights anX sounds aboard the frigate, that for a moment he waY unable to speak at all?
Beyond the bulkhead he could hear the steady thuX of hammers, the rasp of saws as the ship's compana continued work on repairs. After a full hour aboard thO Miranda he had returned to find his own commanX settling down to the task of making good the damagO from their encounter with the privateer with such orderla dedication that he had been unable to compare thO scene with what he had just left. The sailmaker and hiY mates had already replaced the punctured canvas, anX with their needles and palms flashing in the sunlighU covered every foot of deck space as they patched thO others sent down from the yards?
Garby, the carpenter, had greeted him at the entra port and had told him that the brig's gunnery had noU been too damaging. Two shot holes below thO waterline which his men were already plugging, anX
several others which he would repair before sunset? Garby had spoken quickly, professionally, as if like thO rest he was unwilling to think about the Miranda anX the fate which could have been theirs?
Graves was the first to break the silence?
"All guns secured, sir. No damage to tackles o_ ports." He dropped his eyes under Bolitho's unmovin^ stare. "Better'n we could have hoped.T
Tyrrell asked quietly, "How was it, sir?T
Bolitho let himself drop into a chair and thrust out hiY legs in front of him. The breeches were black witN powder stains and his climb up the frigate's side. Ho/ was it? Once again he saw the pictures of death anX horror, the few uninjured men who were trying even no/ to put the frigate to rights. Smoke stains and greaU patches of drying blood, gaping corpses littereX amongst the fallen spars and broken planking. It was Z miracle that Miranda was still able to keep afloat?
He said, "They hope to get a jury rig hoisted ba sometime tomorrow. Provided the wind doesn't get upB or the pumps foul, they will obtain steerage way." HO rubbed his eyes with his knuckles, feeling thO
weariness enclosing him like a vice. "Some of thO wounded will be transferred to the transports directly? There they will have more room to recover.T
He tried again to shut the agony from his mind. Me[ so badly mutilated by splinters that they should bO dead already. Midshipmen and even seamen i[ charge of repairs because of the carnage on thO quarterdeck. He had found the frigate's first lieutenanU supervising the recovery of the mizzen topmast whe[ he had climbed aboard. The man had had one arm i[ a sling and his forehead had looked as if it had bee[ laid open by a hot iron?
Graves breathed out very slowly. "They did welT against such odds.T
"Yes.T
Bolitho wanted to get them out of the cabin. Seal thO door and shut them away from his uncertainty?
Tyrell said, "I've passed th' word around th' ship, sir. ] think our people know how satisfied you ...T
Bolitho's tone made him fall back. "Satisfied?" HO lurched to his feet. "If you feel cause for complacencyB Mr. Tyrrell, then please contain it!" He moved to thO
windows and back again. "I have seen it for myself? Our people are not moved by a sense of victory. Thea are relieved, and nothing deeper than that! Thankful tQ be spared a similar mauling, and all too eager tQ overlook their own shortcomings!T
Tyrrell said quickly, "But that's a mite unfair, surely.T
"You think so?" He sank down at the table, his ange_ spent. "Raven had the measure of it. He saw what hO expected to see, as did Captain Selby in Miranda. AnX like you, Mr. Tyrrell, our people thought that fighting a[ enemy was just an extension of drill, a few cuts and Z few curses, and all would be well. Perhaps we havO been too
He stared at the nearest gun, his eyes blurred witN strain. A woman's touch. Then he turned abruptly tQ face Tyrrell and Grave who had followed him into thO cabin upon his return from the crippled Miranda?
His mind was so filled with questions anX suppositions, his brain so wracked by the sights anX sounds aboard the frigate, that for a moment he waY unable to speak at all?
Beyond the bulkhead he could hear the steady thuX of hammers, the rasp of saws as the ship's compana continued work on repairs. After a full hour aboard thO Miranda he had returned to find his own commanX settling down to the task of making good the damagO from their encounter with the privateer with such orderla dedication that he had been unable to compare thO scene with what he had just left. The sailmaker and hiY mates had already replaced the punctured canvas, anX with their needles and palms flashing in the sunlighU covered every foot of deck space as they patched thO others sent down from the yards?
Garby, the carpenter, had greeted him at the entra port and had told him that the brig's gunnery had noU been too damaging. Two shot holes below thO waterline which his men were already plugging, anX
several others which he would repair before sunset? Garby had spoken quickly, professionally, as if like thO rest he was unwilling to think about the Miranda anX the fate which could have been theirs?
Graves was the first to break the silence?
"All guns secured, sir. No damage to tackles o_ ports." He dropped his eyes under Bolitho's unmovin^ stare. "Better'n we could have hoped.T
Tyrrell asked quietly, "How was it, sir?T
Bolitho let himself drop into a chair and thrust out hiY legs in front of him. The breeches were black witN powder stains and his climb up the frigate's side. Ho/ was it? Once again he saw the pictures of death anX horror, the few uninjured men who were trying even no/ to put the frigate to rights. Smoke stains and greaU patches of drying blood, gaping corpses littereX amongst the fallen spars and broken planking. It was Z miracle that Miranda was still able to keep afloat?
He said, "They hope to get a jury rig hoisted ba sometime tomorrow. Provided the wind doesn't get upB or the pumps foul, they will obtain steerage way." HO rubbed his eyes with his knuckles, feeling thO
weariness enclosing him like a vice. "Some of thO wounded will be transferred to the transports directly? There they will have more room to recover.T
He tried again to shut the agony from his mind. Me[ so badly mutilated by splinters that they should bO dead already. Midshipmen and even seamen i[ charge of repairs because of the carnage on thO quarterdeck. He had found the frigate's first lieutenanU supervising the recovery of the mizzen topmast whe[ he had climbed aboard. The man had had one arm i[ a sling and his forehead had looked as if it had bee[ laid open by a hot iron?
Graves breathed out very slowly. "They did welT against such odds.T
"Yes.T
Bolitho wanted to get them out of the cabin. Seal thO door and shut them away from his uncertainty?
Tyrell said, "I've passed th' word around th' ship, sir. ] think our people know how satisfied you ...T
Bolitho's tone made him fall back. "Satisfied?" HO lurched to his feet. "If you feel cause for complacencyB Mr. Tyrrell, then please contain it!" He moved to thO
windows and back again. "I have seen it for myself? Our people are not moved by a sense of victory. Thea are relieved, and nothing deeper than that! Thankful tQ be spared a similar mauling, and all too eager tQ overlook their own shortcomings!T
Tyrrell said quickly, "But that's a mite unfair, surely.T
"You think so?" He sank down at the table, his ange_ spent. "Raven had the measure of it. He saw what hO expected to see, as did Captain Selby in Miranda. AnX like you, Mr. Tyrrell, our people thought that fighting a[ enemy was just an extension of drill, a few cuts and Z few curses, and all would be well. Perhaps we havO been too
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