By the time he looked back over the larboard beam the Fours Channel was in sight and there was the whole French convoy sailing towards him. There were three columns of merchant ships, as he had expected, with one frigate ahead, two out to seaward, and one astern. They were relying on the coast to protect the whole inshore side of the convoy. He must let them go on thinking that the land shielded them.

‘If we could only get between them and the beach ...’ Southwick murmured wistfully. 'Still, Wagstaffe timed it well. They're all just about in the Channel.'

'Not yet,' Ramage said. 'Another half a mile to go. They're just outside the range of the Juno and Ramage batteries. Give 'em ten or fifteen minutes.'

'But they might turn and bolt!' Southwick exclaimed anxiously.

'Come now, Mr Southwick,' Ramage chided, 'you don't really expect seven merchantmen to try to beat back to Pointe des Salines, do you?' He glanced astern and saw that the Surcouf would now be in sight of the French. 'Why should they be frightened of a couple of frigates when they're so near home and have a schooner coming along to help them!'

'Sorry, sir,' said Southwick with mock contrition. ‘I just can't stand the thought of those beggars getting away after all our preparations.' With that he picked up his telescope and looked at the Diamond. 'No sign of the Juno battery - just bushes.' He trained the telescope lower. 'I can just see the cave at the back of the Ramage battery but no sign of guns or men.' He swung the telescope round to the east. 'Wagstaffe’s tacked. He'll just be able to lay the tail of the convoy.'

Ramage, still watching the French frigates, saw a string of flags hoisted from the leading one. He cursed his lack of a French signal book: they had searched La Créole and La Mutine the moment they were captured, but there were no papers on board, not even a muster table. More flags were hoisted and all the frigates repeated them. A few moments later he realized that the second signal must have been to the convoy because the merchantmen were now beginning to bunch up, the outside ships closing in on the centre column. Instead of three columns of ships there was soon just a group, like seven sheep crowding together as a sheepdog circled them. More important, though, they stayed on the same course. They were coming through the Fours Channel . . .

The Juno, stretching south-east and sailing fast, was now half-way between the headland and the Diamond itself. The Surcouf had almost reached the Diamond and would soon be hauling her wind to round it and then tack north to get at the rear of the convoy. She might need a couple of extra tacks, but it would not matter; it would all serve to confuse the French.

The head of the convoy was at most a mile and a half from the Juno and, as best he could judge, just coming into the extreme range of the Diamond batteries. And the wind was strengthening: the Juno was beginning to slice up spray over her larboard bow and it was drifting aft in dancing rainbow patterns. The gun captains were putting aprons over the locks, small canvas bonnets that would keep them dry until the last moment.

What the devil were the French escorts going to do? At the moment the convoy and escorts were still sailing the same course, coming down into the Fours Channel and heading straight for the Juno. The only sign that they had seen the two British frigates was the two signals and the merchantmen bunching up.

A third signal was hoisted on board the leading frigate and he watched carefully. There were answering signals from the frigates only. Very well, they had received orders - but what were they going to do? He looked back at the merchant ships and stifled an oath of surprise. 'Just look!' he exclaimed unbelievingly to Southwick. 'Some of them are clewing up their courses! They're going to jog along under their topsails alone!'

'Just like all merchantmen,' the Master said cheerfully. 'If they were making five knots before, they'll make three now, if they're lucky. Our lads at the Diamond batteries must be rubbing their hands!'

'Are they acting under orders?' Ramage wondered aloud, and at the same moment saw more signals hoisted by the leading frigate. He watched carefully but none of the other frigates answered, so the signal must have been for the merchantmen.

The merchant ship leading the centre column let fall her courses again, as if in response to the signal, and was followed by her next astern, but the other merchant ships were still busy furling, obviously ignoring the order. A minute later the two centre-column ships clewed up their courses again, clearly anxious not to find themselves ahead of the rest.

By now the Surcouf had rounded the Diamond and tacked to the northwards and La Créole had tacked, too, as though trying to keep well up to windward of her pursuer and reach the safety of the convoy. Ramage pointed them out. 'I think we'll match the Surcouf tack for tack for the time being.'

As the Master snatched up his speaking trumpet, Ramage saw that the leading frigate was altering course slightly, as though intending to sail the convoy through the precise centre of the Fours Channel. Obviously the French captain had decided on the change to keep both British frigates on his larboard bow. It was a good move from his point of view because it left the convoy still covered by the coast to the north.

'Belay that!' Ramage called to Southwick, 'we'll stay on this tack!' He wanted to be sure that all the ships in the convoy followed the leading frigate, and the Juno tacking might scare them off. Their new course would take them half-way between the headland and the Diamond and would reduce the range for the Diamond batteries to half a mile. It would also leave a wider gap between the convoy and the coast.

Southwick rejoined him and saw what was happening. 'The Rock's a magnet for them,' he said.

Ramage shook his head. ‘I think he knows about the current and is afraid the merchantmen under topsails alone will get swept too close to the headland.'

'What's he going to do with those other two frigates, sir?'

'I'm damned if I know. He made them a signal which they answered, but they're still keeping station.'

Southwick gestured towards the Surcouf. ‘Just look at her, sir, she's eating up to windward. She's at least a knot faster than us.'

'A point which hasn't escaped Aitken,' Ramage said wryly, and began to recast his plans slightly. Two unexpected things had happened. First the French merchantmen had obligingly reduced sail and cut the convoy's speed, and second the Surcouf was not only proving faster to windward than he had expected, but she was pointing higher. On this tack, unless the convoy altered course, Aitken could actually intercept the convoy, sailing into the middle of it, instead of arriving astern of it to cut off its retreat.

Ramage began rubbing the scars over his brow and the moment Southwick noticed it he made a mental note not to interrupt the Captain's thoughts. Rubbing the scar meant concentration and perhaps a sudden change of plan. From past experience it resulted in something even more desperate than originally intended but usually more effective. He tried to guess what it would be.

At the moment Southwick thought that the situation was more or less as they had anticipated. The convoy was beginning to come through the Fours Channel towards them; the Surcouf was well round the Diamond and heading up towards the convoy to shut the escape door; La Créole was almost up to the rear of the convoy. Wagstaffe was making another tack, which was unnecessary unless he was trying to waste time until the Juno and the Surcouf were in position. The convoy had reduced speed and the leading French frigate was going to bring them through the middle of the Fours Channel.

Southwick shrugged his shoulders. The original plan had been for the Juno to try to fight her way through the leading frigates to get at the merchantmen while the Surcouf did the same from astern, with La Créole doing her best to get into the middle and use her nimbleness to savage the merchantmen like a stoat running amok in a hen run. That seemed good enough to Southwick, particularly when the Diamond batteries joined in.