The gun captains would only have a fleeting glimpse of the French frigate as the Juno continued her swing towards the convoy, but if a few shot landed it would help. There was distant thudding over on the larboard bow and he saw the French ship firing wildly, her gunners obviously taken by surprise, but the Juno was still swinging round on to the other tack, with ropes squealing through blocks aloft, Jackson cursing the men at the wheel, and Orsini hurling a shrill stream of Italian blasphemy at the French frigate as she passed across the bow. Then a couple of the Juno's forward guns fired and thundered back in recoil, followed in sequence by the rest. Smoke drifted aft and he remembered to breathe shallowly to avoid coughing.
Now the Juno's sails had filled on the other tack and she was sailing fast to the south-east on an opposite course from her erstwhile attacker, heading straight for the head of the convoy.
The captain of the new leading French frigate waited, perhaps in indecision. The Juno's sudden tack directly towards the head of the convoy would show him that he too had made a disastrous mistake - he was much too far ahead of the merchant ships. He could haul round immediately to the north and try to cut off the Juno before she reached the merchantmen or he could simply tack and try to get back to the head of the convoy. Give me three minutes, Ramage prayed; please hesitate a little longer! A glance astern showed him that the first frigate had already tacked and was chasing along in the Juno's wake. She hoisted a string of signal flags and almost immediately the second frigate hauled her wind, turning north towards the Juno. Ramage watched the Frenchmen bracing the yards sharp up, desperately trying to point higher. The luffs fluttered and she paid off a fraction. That was the best she could do - and he saw it was not going to be enough: the Juno would just scrape past ahead, giving her a raking broadside on the way.
He had taken a chance going into action with topgallants set instead of fighting under topsails alone, but so far in this weasel-in-a-hen-run type of action it had paid off. The French were under topsails alone and it was costing them a couple of knots.
More signals came from the first frigate. Suddenly and almost unbelievably the second frigate tacked and came round on the same course as the Juno, but nearly half a mile to leeward, leaving the British frigate between her and the convoy.
Southwick, watching open-mouthed, turned to Ramage, and said: 'I must be dreaming. Why the devil has he done that?'
There was only one explanation Ramage could think of. ‘They reckon we're going down to join the Surcouf!’
He looked over towards her and felt quite sick: Aitken had two frigates bearing down on him. But there was nothing he could do. The time had nearly come for the Juno to start the bishop's move.
'Orsini,' he called. 'The Diamond's pendant and number twenty-two!!
'Aye, aye, sir,' the boy yelled, running towards the halyards. 'Engage the convoy!'
'Mr Southwick, we'll tack again. Jackson, keep her as close to the wind as you can!'
The Juno turned north again, heading straight for the shore and leaving the convoy on her starboard side.
‘That'll fool them!' Southwick exclaimed gleefully. 'Both the frigates are tacking again. They did think we were going down to the Surcouf. Not that she couldn't do with a hand,' he added soberly. A moment later he was berating the men at the wheel and glowering at Jackson as a luff fluttered.
With the Juno heading for the shore Ramage kept glancing at the convoy over the top of the compass. It looked as though the frigate would run up the beach before the middle of the convoy bore south-east, so he could fetch it on the next tack.
As he watched Orsini arrived in front of him, almost squeaking with excitement and pointing at the far side of the convoy, towards the Surcouf. Ramage stared, frowned and then snatched Orsini's telescope, cursing as he had to adjust the focus.
One French frigate had rammed the other! Her jibboom and bowsprit were stuck in the second ship's side and her foremast had come crashing down, locking into the other frigate's mainmast. Even as he watched, her mainmast began to topple, slowly at first and then gathering speed, until it fell over the side, its yards giving it a cartwheeling effect. The Surcouf, which he had last seen between the two frigates, wreathed in smoke and obviously trapped, was between the wrecked ships and the convoy, sailing fast. And La Créole had hoisted her own flag and was firing into the last ship of the centre column.
Ramage thrust the telescope back to Orsini. 'Watch the Surcouf for signals!'
There was no time to tell Southwick: all that mattered now was that the Juno stayed close-hauled until she was almost on the beach and then tacked south-east again into the middle of the convoy.
The two frigates the Juno had dodged were still tacking, trying to catch up with her. The first one had her topgallants set but Ramage knew there was precious little the Frenchman could do now to save the convoy, unless, of course, the Juno ran aground. This was becoming a distinct possibility.
Damn all this tacking! There were seven fat merchantmen almost at his mercy once he got to windward. He glanced up at the luffs, but Jackson and Southwick were watching like hawks. The beach was approaching with alarming speed and already the water had changed to green and close ahead it was an even lighter green. Ramage heard a chanting from the mainchains and saw the leadsman at work, water from the line streaming down his body.
He glanced back at the merchantmen. He needed another fifty yards before he tacked; otherwise he would not lay the middle of the convoy, which was helping him by continuing to steer the same course.
Southwick was watching him anxiously. 'Leadsman reports five fathoms, sir!'
‘We'll hold on a little longer, Mr Southwick.'
It was a devilish choice having to risk running ashore or miss getting into the middle of that convoy! He would look a damn fool with the Juno hard aground, bows into the beach, while the Surcouf and La Créole tried to finish off the convoy before the remaining two French frigates beat them off.
‘He's reporting four fathoms, sir!'
'I can hear him, Mr Southwick.'
And I can see the sand too, he thought grimly, and almost distinguish the individual palm fronds as well! He looked back over the quarter at the convoy, tried to estimate if there were twelve points between the Juno's jibboom and the merchantmen, and gestured to Southwick: 'You may tack, Mr Southwick. This is the bishop's move!'
He almost giggled at the 'may’ and he knew he was getting far too excited.
The wheel spun, the men looking as if they were trying to climb up the spokes; the blocks screeched and the Juno's bow swung along the beach so that palm trees, a few small thatched huts and the mountains in the distance swept across his vision as though he was looking from the window of a runaway coach.
Still no thump under the deck, still no gentle slowing down. The Juno had not hit a rock, a coral reef or run on to a sand bar - yet. Then there was a sea horizon ahead - a horizon on which the merchant ships were bunched. He ran forward to the quarterdeck rail. The larboard-side guns had long ago been reloaded and run out again, and all the men on both sides were watching him, rags round their brows and most of them naked to the waist.
He lifted the speaking trumpet to his mouth. 'Stand by, my lads! This tack will take us right into the convoy. I hope you're more awake than the gunners in that first French frigate!' There was a chorus of shouts and jeers and before giving them a cheery wave he said: 'Pick your targets: every shot must count!' He turned back for a good look at the convoy, knowing he must choose the course through it that gave the gunners the best chance of firing into all seven ships. Orsini was once again jumping up and down, trying to attract his attention. The boy was so excited he was incoherent. Ramage shook him and told him to report in Italian. 'The Diamond batteries, sir! They are firing at the French frigates - not the ones that collided, but the others. The shot are falling all round them!'