'Ordered - 324. Launched - 109. Of these, only 69 could be commissioned. Under construction - 15 (of which four are more than half completed). Deficit - 200.

'Gunboats, to form the Third Flotilla, each with a pinnace in company and carrying 130 men for a total of 56,160 (including 3,456 surgeons). Each gunboat to be armed with one 24-pounder gun and also to carry 1 piece of field artillery and the same cargo as sloops, plus 2 horses, 10 bushels of oats and bran, and 200 rounds of shot.

'Ordered - 432. Launched - 73. Of these, only 19 have been commissioned. Still under construction—14 (of which 12 are more than half completed). Deficit - 345.

'Caiques, forming the Fourth Flotilla. To carry a total of 2,160 men with 216,000 cartridges, 21,600 rations of biscuit, 1,080 rations of brandy and 108 sheep.

'Required - 540. Requisitioned, commandeered or captured - 127. (Note: only 63 of these have arrived at Boulogne, Calais, Étaples, St Valery or Wimereux. Another 11 have reached Le Havre and Cherbourg. The remaining 53 are in various ports between Antwerp and St Jean de Luz awaiting safe convoy.) Deficit - 413.

'Corvettes, forming the Fifth Flotilla, each carrying 40 men for a total of 3,240. These to carry the same cargo as gunboats but no artillery or ammunition.

'Ordered - 81. Launched - 10. (Note: 27 old corvettes have been refitted but none is less than 25 years old.) Deficit - 44,

'Fishing boats, forming the Sixth Flotilla, and to carry 2,160 horses and riders, with a double supply of horses and riders.

'Required - 108. Requisitioned, commandeered or captured - 108.

'Fishing boats of six different types to form the Transport Flotilla, and intended to carry 3 million cartridges, 1,208 horses, 3,560 officers and men, 1,760 canteen women, and a considerable quantity of other military stores too numerous to list here.

'Required - 464. Requisitioned, commandeered or captured: 276. Deficit - 188.

'Another Flotilla comprising 100 to 150 large, armed fishing boats have yet to be found,' Bruix wrote. "These are intended to carry 200 horses, 1,000 men, 10,000 rations of biscuit, 10,000 rations each of brandy, oats and bran, and 200 sheep.'

From the preceding figures, Bruix noted, it will be seen the number of men that the vessels ordered or required can carry, 110,324, is less than the required strength of the Army of Invasion (working on a total of 113,474, comprising 76,798 infantrymen, 11,640 cavalry, 3,780 artillerymen, 3,780 wagoners and 17,476 non-combatants), but it is anticipated that each vessel will be able to carry an extra dozen or so men.

'The search still goes on in all ports from Antwerp to St Jean de Luz,' the Admiral added, 'for 300 merchant ships of less than seven feet draught and each of which can carry 100 men. Although there had been some success in finding a number, several of these have since been captured by British cruisers and privateers while making for Boulogne.'

Bruix concluded with what Ramage read as a plea to Forfait to make it clear to the First Consul that he had done the best he could with the money, men and materials available, and he continued to doubt the wisdom of trying to make seaworthy those craft built for similar projects in the 1760s: they required a disproportionate amount of men and materials -particularly men, since only skilled shipwrights could be used for that type of work.

Ramage drew a line and then signed his name. Then he put down the pen and screwed the top on the inkwell. He gave a sigh of relief and looked at his watch. It had taken twenty-five minutes. 'Here, you'd better seal this and take it to Louis's room. 1 hope he remembered to get a fresh loaf!'

'He did, sir, an' he told me he'd slit it ready for up to six sheets of paper. You've only used -' Stafford flicked through the pages, 'three. I'll seal them first.' He folded them and ran his thumb nail along the creases to flatten them. Picking up a stick of red wax he glanced at Ramage's signet ring. 'Want ter use the seal, sir?'

Ramage shook his head. 'Too risky - if that was intercepted and I was caught...'

As soon as the blobs of wax sealed Ramage's letter, Stafford left the room in his usual silent manner, returning to say that it was secure in the loaf.

'Want ter glance at any of these, sir?' He gestured towards the remaining letters.

'No - we've done enough for tonight. Just seal up the Admiral's dispatch and get that satchel back under the lieutenant's bed, so we can get to sleep!'

The job was nearly done. Almost unbelievably, they had succeeded. It remained only for Stafford to reheat the spatula and fix the seal, put all the correspondence back in the satchel, and return it. Ramage decided to lie on his bed to savour the feeling of relief: Stafford needed no help, and Ramage was beginning to feel weak from relaxation of tension and almost unbelievably tired.

The bed creaked, and as he stretched out he realized just how weary he was. Stafford was humming quietly to himself and Ramage watched the shadow of the Cockney's head dancing across the ceiling.

'That's it, me beauty,' Stafford muttered and blew vigorously. 'Ah - just as good as the horiginal. In yer go.' Ramage was reminded of a poacher talking to his ferret. There was a click as he turned the lock on the satchel. 'Right, that's that, sir; I'll be off darn the corridor.'

Ramage murmured contentedly. Drowsily he wondered if Louis was winning at cards. Tomorrow morning, in a few hours' time, all three of them would be in a carriage rattling along the road to Boulogne, with the report preceding them, safe from interception should they be captured. Jackson and Rossi would be waiting at Boulogne with the Marie and Dyson. Curious that a scoundrel like Dyson should eventually do something that made up for all his past crimes. Dare he tell Lord Nelson all about him, so that Dyson would not go through the rest of his life a wanted man? Plenty of time to think about that later; now it was good to sleep knowing that the work was done, and it only remained to escape . . .

A woman's shrill scream went through him like a dagger. She screamed again and again in desperate fear; then he heard her running along the corridor and down the stairs, still screaming as she went. The landlord's daughter?

He leapt out of bed and grabbed Stafford's spatula, the stick of wax and the remaining bundle of picklocks. Where could he hide them? The screaming had stopped but he could hear thumping below, as though men were coming up the stairs. Stafford had not come back and it was difficult to know what had happened.

Hurriedly he tossed the picklocks, wax and spatula up on top of the canopy over the bed, then dragged off his clothes and pulled on his nightshirt, blew out the candle and hurried to the door, waiting a few seconds before opening it as the: first of the men ran past.

It was the lieutenant with a lantern, followed by Louis and then the landlord.

'What's happening?' Ramage asked sleepily and with suitable nervousness.

'Burglars!' the landlord said, using Raimage's appearance to leave the other two men to run into the lieutenant's room. 'My daughter found them and raised the alarm!'

'What was she doing up here?'

'She had written a billet doux for the lieutenant and crept up to put it under his pillow, I think. Then she saw all these men. Half a dozen or more, she says ...'

Ramage murmured sympathetic noises as he listened. A few moments later the lieutenant strode out, chest puffed with importance. 'There is no one there - and the dispatches are safe -' he waved the satchel he was holding. 'The window is wide open - the villains escaped. Landlord! Fetch the gendarmes - we must start a search for them. Six men!'

The landlord scurried down the stairs.

'Did you see anything, M'sieur?' the lieutenant asked Ramage.