Free HMS Diamond by Tom Grundner

walked out onto the main deck. Just as they were about to go over the side to the waiting boat from the Swallow , a steward came up and handed Captain Tarnow a package wrapped in brown paper.
           "Keptin Smith, a small gift for you as a token of my esteem."
           Smith expressed his thanks and scrambled over the ship’s side. As they were being rowed back Smith opened the package, looked in, took out a note and read it.
           "What is it?" Susan asked.
           "It’s a regulation Navy-issue white flag with a note that says: ‘Try this next time. It’s a bit more dignified than what you have been using.’"
     
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Four
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
           TOULON harbor is shaped roughly like an hourglass so that it is actually two harbors in one. The inner harbor, known as the Petite Rade, was wide but not long, with excellent anchorages. In the northeast corner was the town of Toulon along with its extensive naval base, and behind the town was Mount Faron. The inner harbor narrowed in the southeast corner, however, to offer an exit only 500 yards wide. On one side of the opening was Fort l’Eguillette and just down from that, Fort Balaguier. On the other side of the passage was a battery known as La Grosse Tour, but it was the two forts that dominated the anchorages.
           Passing through that narrow straight, the waters opened up into the much larger outer harbor, known to the locals as the Grande Rade, which opened up to the sea. Wide and deep, the outer harbor’s anchorage was not as good as the inner; but it made up for it by providing the one thing all sea captains cherished—sea room.
           The Swallow rounded Cape Sepet and picked up a soldier’s wind from the southwest. Spreading her fore and main sails like the wings of a great bird, she set a course for the inner harbor. No one—not Smith, not Whitney, nor any member of the crew—was prepared for the sight that lay before them. Twenty-one British ships of the line lay anchored in the outer harbor. Another twenty-four major ships, French ships, were in the Petite Rade. Frigates, corvettes and sloops of war were lying about like two-a-penny child’s toys, and the water was alive with small boats scurrying around like water beetles.
           The Swallow shot through the opening, known as the gullet, and into the inner harbor. She immediately came hard a’starboard and swung north on a reach that would take them to the city jetties. The Swallow was a civilian ship, so no one on the admiral’s flagship bothered to signal as to where it should anchor. Smith initially assumed he would have to anchor in either the inner or outer harbor and go ashore by boat; but in the Mediterranean it was customary to moor ships either bow or stern to a quay. From there, no boat would be needed as you could simply step off your ship right on to the dock.
           Smith eyeballed the lines of ships already tied up to the quay and spotted an opening between a merchantman and a French corvette. At the last moment, he dropped his mainsail, threw the tiller over hard and spun the ship around like a ballet dancer so that the remaining foresail was now facing directly into the wind. The ship had stopped on a dime, her stern neatly pointed toward the quay. It was a maneuver that could only have been done with a xebec and Smith could not resist the opportunity to show off.
           "Bosun, secure the sails. Then get a boat over and tow us the rest of the way into the slip, if you please," Smith said smugly and walked off the quarterdeck as if this was the way he always entered port.
     
    ***
     
           About an hour later, Walker and Whitney were strolling along the quay toward the naval base. The admiral’s broad pennant was flying on the mainmast of the Victory , so Smith had gone over to the flagship to report in. They were in no particular hurry, which allowed them