Suddenly the Admiral unfolded a paper and pushed it across to Ramage, who recognized the Admiralty seal. 'Read it,' he said abruptly.

Three paragraphs, after the usual long-winded and stylized beginning, about the Jocasta. The reasons for Captain Edwards's questions about the officers and ship's company were now only too clear. Ramage folded the paper, and the Admiral slid a sealed envelope across the table. ‘They are your preliminary orders - based on what you've just read. The Surcouf will be bought into the King's service, and you will command her. You collect up your former ship's company, unless you want to leave the garrison on the Diamond, in which case Captain Edwards will let you have an equivalent number of men from this ship.'

'And my new officers, sir?'

The Admiral shook his head. 'You get only one lieutenant.'

Ramage looked puzzled and was trying to phrase a mild protest when the Admiral said: 'Aitken and Wagstaffe want to stay with you. I've never heard of a first lieutenant trying to avoid being made post, but that young Scot seems to have a very strong loyalty to you. Not related, are you?'

When Ramage shook his head the Admiral added: 'I tried to persuade him - persuade him, if you please! - to allow me to promote him into the Juno, even though I have several other very deserving young officers. But he said he needed more experience, and he wants to stay with you. So he'll remain as your First Lieutenant in the Surcouf. I gave young Wagstaffe the chance of being La Comète's First Lieutenant, but he preferred to remain your Second rather than have a long stay in a hot dockyard. Lacey will be the only one to gain out of your action; I'm giving him the Créole - the Diamond, rather - because he seems full of initiative and knows Diamond Rock. Baker will be out of hospital by now and he'll be sent up to join you in Antigua.'

'I'm most grateful, sir, and -'

'I want you ready to get under way for English Harbour at dawn. Shift to the Surcouf and I'll send someone over to command the Juno. Leave the two ships' companies as they are - we can sort that out in Antigua. The Invincible will tow La Comète and I'll send prize crews over to the merchantmen. You'll stay in company with the Invincible - a taste of escorting a convoy will do you no harm. You have your final orders . . . No,' he said grimly, interrupting Ramage, 'if you've given any thought to the First Lord's letter you know you've nothing to thank me for.'

In 1804 Commodore Samuel Hood, who was responsible for blockading the French in Martinique, reported to the Admiralty that he had taken possession of Diamond Rock, writing: 'I think it will completely blockade the coast in the most perfect security . . . Thirty riflemen will keep the hill against ten thousand...'

Unfortunately Hood gave the Admiralty very few details of how he put the 74-gun Centaur alongside the Rock and swayed up 24-pounder guns to the top, but it was seamanship of epic proportions. The garrison held the Rock for seventeen months, and the episode has become one of the legends of the Royal Navy in the Caribbean.

While sailing past the Rock some years ago, my wife and I became fascinated by Hood's feat. The adventures of Captain Ramage described in this book are the result, and they bear out the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. Although the Fort Royal of Ramage's day is the Fort de France of today, the Rock remains unchanged. Recently some of the cannons swayed up by Hood (using the method adopted by Ramage) were recovered from the sea below the site of one of the batteries.

DP.

Yacht Ramage

Tortola, B.V.I.

West Indies