After the table was cleared, all present waited for what was next. The captain asked for a chart to be brought forward. It was a map of the mouth of the port where French ships including the Papillon was harbored. He marked a spot on the map where the Papillon could be found and announced that the officers present would be going in to “fetch her out”. A greying first lieutenant was put in charge and asked to tell of his plan. He listed the assignments: each of two larger launches would be commanded by a senior officer and a “jolly boat” (a smaller boat with a crew of seven) would be commanded by Hornblower. Ira Riklis knows this was an honor and a source of apprehension for Hornblower. Half of the ship’s company would be taken up by this mission.

The Papillon was a ship of war with guns and fighting men not merchantmen, nearly two hundred men against the one hundred and twenty British seamen. The plan was to attack at night and surprise the French. It was decided that the Indefatigable would move in closer to land and the larger of the boats that were launched would go in and surround the Papillon around 4:30AM gaining access to the deck. As Ira Riklis could predict, Hornblower and the jolly boat would hang back and when the deck was secured, go aboard the Papillon and manage to redirect its big sails to leave the harbor and meet up with the Indefatigable.