He heard the bos'n's mates piping through the ship, following the shrill notes with dire threats to anyone who did not hurry to lash up his hammock. On a morning like this, woe betide any man who lashed up his hammock so carelessly that the long sausage of canvas was too fat to pass through the special measuring hoop.
The top edge of the clouds to the east were now lined with gold. Muster and stow hammocks . . . clean arms . . . the watch on deck to coil ropes and spread awnings while the watch below cleaned the lower deck . . . then, promptly at eight o'clock, breakfast. And after that, what had the Captain in store for them?
After breakfast, Ramage had given the order to beat to quarters and the boy drummer, excited by the occasion, had handled his drumsticks with all the flourish of the conductor of an orchestra. The gunner collected the bronze key to the magazine and disappeared below, head pumps were rigged and water squirted over the decks ahead of men sprinkling sand. Gun captains collected the locks for their guns, priming wires, trigger lines, boxes of quill tubes and flasks of priming powder. Tackles were overhauled, guns run in, and handspikes, rammers and sponges unlashed. Small tubs were put between the guns, ready to soak the sponges: other tubs with notches cut at intervals round the top were placed nearby and short lengths of slow matches, in effect slow-burning fuses, were tucked in the notches, the glowing ends hanging down safely over the water but ready for instant use should the flint in a lock fail to make a spark.
As soon as me men were standing by the guns ready for the order to load, and with Southwick at the conn and each of the four lieutenants standing by his division, Ramage sent for the gunner.
Johnson came up from the magazine with the big key in his hand as proof that he had left the door locked. He was a tiny man with iron-grey hair and although the skin of his face was wrinkled as an old leather boot he usually wore a cheerful expression. Now, as he reported to the Captain, he looked worried: he had seen what had already happened this morning and dreaded to think what surprises were in store for his little kingdom of guns, powder and shot, ranges and trajectories, flintlocks and slow match.
'We'll inspect the guns, Johnson,' Ramage announced, and led the way. At the first gun he pointed to two of the gun's crew. 'You two stand fast and the rest of you go and stand by on the fo'c'sle.' He did the same at the next gun and repeated it until only two men stood by each of the frigate's twenty-six maindeck guns, the rest of the men now crowded on the fo'c'sle. Then he led the way back to the quarterdeck, passing the word for the First Lieutenant and followed by a puzzled Johnson, who kept looking at the men grouped forward and shaking his head.
As soon as Aitken joined them Ramage said: 'We are in battle, we've suffered heavy casualties, and the men at the maindeck guns are all you have left - forget the 6-pounders. When I give the word, you'll fire two broadsides to larboard and two to starboard.'
'But sir,' the gunner protested, 'two men can't run out a gun, it's much too heavy!'
'Tell that to the French, Mr Johnson,’ Ramage said grimly. 'Imagine that we are trapped, running between two enemy ships, and our only chance of surviving is keeping up as rapid a rate of fire as possible.'
'But sir -' Johnson broke off as he saw Ramage rubbing the scar over his brow, and then taking out his watch. The First Lieutenant gestured to the gunner to follow him and hurried down to the maindeck taking Orsini with them.
Southwick walked over to Ramage and grinned, removing his hat and running his fingers through his flowing white hair. 'It's been quite like old times so far today, sir,' he commented.
Ramage nodded. 'Except that we learned all these things the hard way!'
'Aye, and I'm beginning to wonder if that gunner has ever been in action before. He seems a conscientious man, but 'twould seem to me he lacks experience."
‘He's been in action half a dozen times, but only a few casualties,' Ramage said. ‘That's -'
He broke off as Orsini hurried up, saluted and reported that they were ready to open fire.
'My compliments to Mr Aitken,' Ramage told him, 'and tell him to open fire when he is ready.'
Ramage was curious to know what Aitken and the gunner had contrived, but he had decided right from the start that today he would be an onlooker; an observer with a watch in his hand. Later this afternoon he would have a word with the ship’s company, and then the officers would be invited down to bjs cabin while Southwick acted as officer of the deck. He would hold an inquest on what did happen and what should have happened, and in front of him would be the sheet of paper with times written on -
There was a shout from forward and several guns on each side fired, the sharp explosions followed a moment later by the heavy rumbling of the trucks rolling across the decks as the guns flung back in recoil. Ramage saw that alternate guns had fired: the remainder were still run out.
The spurts of smoke merged into oily yellow clouds drifting forward in the following wind and some of it, swirling across the group of men on the fo'c'sle, set many of them coughing. Ramage glanced at his watch and waited as men hurriedly sponged them and began to reload. Then the remaining thirteen guns fired and Ramage, stifling a sigh of relief, glanced across at Southwick, who was nodding his approval.
Aitken and Johnson had done the right thing. They had obviously had all the guns loaded - two men at each gun could manage that. Then two men from alternate guns had helped the two at the next to run out and fire - that accounted for half the broadside on each side. Each four men had then run out the remaining guns, which had fired the second half of the broadsides.
So far, so good: the real test was how long it would take two men to reload each gun and then repeat the whole performance. But the important thing, Ramage knew, was that Aitken and Johnson, faced with two choices, had picked the right one. They could have run all the guns out and fired a full broadside, or they could divide them. Either way was effective but Ramage had a particular reason for preferring the divided broadsides. A ship firing full broadsides but at long intervals revealed to the enemy that heavy casualties had slowed her rate of fire. However, dividing the broadsides meant that at least some guns were firing frequently - and making a lot of smoke which would certainly obscure all the gun ports and probably conceal from an excited enemy that the real rate of fire was very slow. In battle it might prove decisive: at a critical moment for the Juno the enemy might sheer off, convinced they were doing no good. It will be interesting to hear the explanation of Aitken's choice, Ramage thought; it is easy enough to do the right thing for the wrong reason...
Ten minutes later the guns had been sponged out and secured, the magazine locked, rammers and sponges lashed, tubs emptied and stowed and men were busy washing away the sand which had already dried on the deck from the hot sun. Ramage thought of the other orders which he could give to test the ship's effectiveness in battle - rigging out boarding nets, hoisting grapnels to the yardarms ready to run alongside an enemy ship and hook them in the rigging so they could board, making the men shift guns from one position to another - but he was satisfied. The men were working with a will and the officers were wide awake. Later there would be extra questions for the officers, and he already knew what they would be.