Ramage And The Rebels

The prospect of reporting to your commander-in-chief that you have captured the island of Curasao does not appeal to you, My Lord? I would have thought that it would be - how do you say, "a feather in your cap".'

The idea appeals to me, Your Excellency, but you ask for a guarantee that the British defend the island. I am the person who - for the time being, and that is the only time that really matters - has to give that guarantee.'

'But I can see no difficulty .. .'

'Your Excellency - ' the voice was crisp now, van Someren noted - 'I have about two hundred seamen and forty Marines. How can I possibly guarantee to defend you with such a small force?'

There are my own troops as well! Together they make a strong force.'

Again he shook his head. 'You assume that because I have two hundred and forty men I can land them all like a few companies of infantry. But only the Marines have any training as soldiers. The seamen have been barefooted for months, and if they put on boots or shoes I'm afraid their feet would be blistered within an hour. And I need to keep fifty men on board.'

'Very well, if you don't want to fight. . .'

Again those eyes. It was an insulting thing to say, and not really meant: the words were only a measure of the disappointment at realizing that the Calypso would be sailing out of Amsterdam within - well, a few hours.

'Your Excellency, you should not assume that because we captured a French frigate yesterday without firing a shot we did not want to fight'

'Accept my apologies, please.' It was the only way, and one wanted this young man's respect. 'But is there no way you can help us? Have I not shown you that the French are now as much our enemies as yours?'

'I may be able to help you, Your Excellency, but not on your terms.'

What is he offering? Is he a sly fellow after all? Have I misjudged him? No, it is not possible. Anyway, words cost nothing except time. They can always be denied or twisted.

'But I have not insisted on any terms 1'

'You offer to surrender, Your Excellency, on one condition. Perhaps I should have said "condition", not ''terms",'

'Please explain more fully.' There might be some hope yet 'I cannot guarantee to defend the island. I can accept the island's surrender and hope that my commander-in-chief will agree to send troops and ships for its defence. But four weeks or more would pass before they arrive, even if my admiral agrees, and that would be much too late. The next four days are the critical ones for you. If you can survive the next - four days you will be safe for more than four weeks.'

'But we can't'

'No, I don't think you can. Your Excellency.'

'And you refuse to help us?'

'As things stand, I can't At the moment you are our enemy - you forget we are here under a flag of truce. If I helped you, I would be guilty of treason, of helping the enemy.'

And of course he is quite right; this Ramage has not let himself be dazzled by the idea of taking the surrender of an island. 'So, My Lord, we reach stalemate?'

He is shaking his head; quite a definite movement But has he an alternative proposal after all? His lieutenant is looking round at him, obviously surprised. Lausser is sitting rigidly in his chair. 'What do you propose, then?' The words sound strangled, but Ramage seems not to notice.

That you surrender without conditions, Your Excellency.'

'But, My Lord, you cannot expect me - why, you could sign the instrument and just sail away, leaving us to be slaughtered by these rebels.'

'I could.' And now he looks me straight in the eye. 'But then all I would have would be a worthless sheet of paper, not an island, so do you think I would?'

'No, I do not' In all honesty one has to admit that 'But why do"you reject my condition?'

'Your Excellency, I have told you. I can't sign a document guaranteeing you something which cannot be guaranteed. Some men would sign a document guaranteeing to make the sun rise in the west I am not one of them.'

"What do you suggest we do?' And here at last in the sixty - third year of my life, I, Gottlieb van Someren, Governor of Curacao, once honoured with several titles which had been held by many forebears but now officially addressed as 'Citizen', am asking a young British frigate captain what he suggests I do with the island I govern. The ironies of wars and revolution - and of Nature's delays too: where is the Delft? 'You have only one choice, Your Excellency. I think you know what it is.'

'I prefer to hear it from you.'

'Surrender the island without any condition, and put yourself under the protection of His Britannic Majesty. I repeat the last part - "put yourself under the protection of His Britannic Majesty". You get no guarantee about anything.'

'How will that help me or my people?'

Now he gives a boyish grin; not an artful or sly grin, but one of satisfaction.

'All it does is help me to help you. At this moment I can't help you in any way - indeed, it is doubtful if I should even be talking with you - because you are "the enemy". If you surrender and put yourself under British protection, you become my ally. And with a clear conscience I can do all I can to help you. But I could not sign any guarantee with a clear conscience. Shall we now compose a brief "instrument of surrender" and the four of us sign it?'

The English lieutenant's eyes light up. With his name on a document in which the British accept the surrender of Curacao, he knows his name goes down in history. And so does mine, but for the opposite reason. 'Yes, let us begin with a rough draft . . .' '

Aitken looked at the sheet of paper which Major Lausser had slid across the table towards him. It was a large sheet which had been folded in half to make four sides, and three of them were covered with the neat, copper - plate handwriting of the Governor's clerk, who had painstakingly copied the draft agreed by the captain and the Governor.

Aitken wiped the quill on a piece of cloth and dipped it in the ink. This was a fine thing, his name on a document (an 'instrument of surrender" was its proper name, apparently) by which the captain took the surrender of this whole island. Why, running before a fair wind it took the Calypso five or six hours to sail from one end to another. At least 400 square miles, perhaps more. The captain insisted he read it right through and say aloud, for them all to hear, that he understood it. Then, and only then, was he to sign it as one of the two representatives of His Britannic Majesty.

It would be printed in the London Gazette, that was certain. The Gazette would refer to the surrender, print the wording of the instrument, and give his name as well. A document of state, signed by him. But he wanted to read more slowly, even if the foreign gentlemen were showing signs of impatience, because he knew his hand was trembling, and he did not want to write a shaky signature.

It was a long way from Dunkeld to Amsterdam, from the Highlands of Scotland to this parched tropical island perched on the edge of the Spanish Main, and, despite the excitement and actions of the past few months, these latest twenty - four hours almost passed belief. At this very moment the frigate of which he was first lieutenant - of which he was second in command - was moored across the entrance channel of the port of the island of Curacao, the Netherlands' most important base in the West Indies. Not a man or vessel could stir without Captain Ramage's agreement. And now the captain was becoming impatient, too, but his hand still felt shaky.

'Sign under Major Lausser's name. Your full name, and then "Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and second - in - command of His Majesty's frigate the Calypso" underneath. Don't blot it.'

The captain was speaking quietly, just as he had been doing for the past couple of hours. And what a couple of hours. There were times when Mr Ramage had refused some Dutch request and it had seemed unreasonable: he, lames Aitken, would have agreed with the Dutch on that. Then a few minutes later it would become clear that the refusal was proof of how quickly the captain's mind had been working; he had looked far ahead and seen difficulties, and the Dutch Governor had finally agreed, often looking very crestfallen that he hadn't thought of it first.