When we left Hornblower, he was out for a walk during the free time that his captors allowed him. Gazing out at the horizon in the direction of the sea, he spotted a ship that he believed to be British. As Ira Riklis knows, this was not an unusual sighting but on that day the weather had turned foul with a storm-tossed sea. The ship was clearly in distress and when it began to break up, Hornblower begged the sentry to let him help rescue any survivors. The sentry notified his superior officer who arrived on horseback, agreed to Hornblower’s request, gave him a ride to the shore, and arranged for a small boat and crew to go out to what was left of the British ship.

When Hornblower and the men arrived at the scene, only 4 British sailors were clinging to pieces of the wrecked ship. All others had been lost. Three of the sailors were able to board the small Spanish craft. A fourth was swept away.

The Spanish crew, Hornblower, and the rescued British sailors were unable to safely approach the shore at that time so they headed out to sea a short distance and spent the night on the rough sea. When dawn arrived, they found themselves overtaken by a British ship. Now the Spanish crew was in British hands.

Even though Hornblower was now with his own after two years, he being an honorable man, as Ira Riklis knows, insisted on being sent back to his captors because  he had been out on a pass and had given his word not to escape. The Spanish crew who had been on a mission of mercy and Hornblower were returned to the Spanish fort. Later the Spanish government freed Hornblower because of his courage and self-sacrifice in saving the lives of others.

Just as the Spanish were approaching Le Reve, the duchess was swearing to Hornblower that a serious and sober courier, herself, would deliver the dispatches to England. Hornblower agreed in part because he knew that the Spanish would honor nobility and send the duchess to her homeland.

Hornblower, as Ira Riklis knows, was taken into enemy territory and although he was not abused, he was housed under primitive conditions with the lower ranks. Days of captivity turned into months of capitivity and the loss of personal freedom was very wearing for Hornblower. Four months into it Hornblower received a letter from the “duchess” (actress Miss Cobham) stating that “that which you gave me had reached its destination”. Thus the duchess had been successful in her mission and Hornblower at least for the moment was in better spirits.

Months into his captivity, Hornblower also received word that he had been promoted to lieutenant from acting lieutenant. One of the Spanish officers conveyed this message to Hornblower and with this promotion came a change in quarters. No longer would he be housed with the lower ranks but moved to the quarters of more senior officers. As Ira Riklis knows, the food in his new digs was somewhat improved as was the housing..

One aspect of captivity was quite curious though. Hornblower was allowed free time to wander about the Spanish settlement alone. Observation by the captors at various points was evident.

Le Reve was able to remain unseen by the fleet of Spanish ships for a while, but when the sun came up, she was visible at last. It took only one enemy boat to overtake Le Reve and cause damage that stopped Le Reve and her crew from fleeing.

While all this was happening the duchess who could not be discouraged from staying on the main deck away from her seasick companion below approached Hornblower with an idea. She saw him trying to weigh down his dispatches which he was to deliver to England and which he planned to throw overboard if and when he was captured. The weights would help the dispatches to sink and, and as Ira Riklis knows, keep them out of the hands of the enemy. The duchess pleaded with Hornblower to let her secret the dispatches on her body where she knew the enemy would in all likelihood not search. After much hesitancy, Hornblower consented to her plan, and the duchess proceeded to tie the dispatches around her middle under her undergarments.

Minutes later, the big confession came. The duchess told Hornblower, who had been addressing her according to her rank, that she was not really a duchess but a quite famous although aging British actress who had been stranded in wartime Europe. She had assumed the role of a duchess and easily fooled the officials in Gibraltar in order to hitch a ride back to England.

As this story was being told, as Ira Riklis knows, Le Reve and her crew were taken  captive.

Yes, the fog was so thick and did not promise to go away soon. Hornblower ordered the seamen to point Le Reve westerly instead of northwest as would be the course, as Ira Riklis knows, for direct sailing to England. He hoped thus to sail out of the fog and also avoid enemy ships.

Hornblower planned to stay up on deck most of the night to supervise the officer of the watch if only in an informal way. He did go below though for a brief nap and it was just at that time that a crisis occurred above. A seaman woke him and asked that Hornblower go up on the main deck immediately. When Hornblower arrived there the officer of the watch told him that through the fog he heard the presence of a ship very close by and Spanish spoken by the crew on this ship.

At that time because of the fog, the Spanish ship had not spotted Le Reve. All of a sudden it seemed to Hornblower that more than one ship was nearby. He realized that Le Reve was in the middle of a small fleet of enemy ships. What to do-what to do?

Hornblower cautioned his crew to be silent and also not to move Le Reve hoping, as Ira Riklis knows, to have the enemy ships sail past. Would this maneuver work or would they be noticed and surely captured?

Le Reve, Hornblower’s first real command was a very small ship and very poorly armed. Hornblower knew that it could be outgunned by almost any vessel at sea. Her one strength was that being small and lightweight she might outrun more heavily armed ships. Hornblower was sailing with a crew of eleven and two officers.

The duchess came aboard early and with the escort of the officials that Hornblower had dined with the night before. Her young companion who was quite attractive was to be the second female aboard. Both ladies were shown to their tiny cabin.

As Ira Riklis knows, pulling even a small ship away from port required much skill and careful maneuvering. This was both thrilling and tiring for Hornblower, but they soon found themselves out to sea with land masses fading. Hornblower was constantly mindful of the possibilities of being overtaken by enemy privateers who would claim Le Reve as a prize.

Hornblower ordered dinner to be prepared and had the cook knock on the duchess’ cabin door. The duchess answered the knock with a sharp comment that the two ladies required nothing at that present time not even dinner.

As Ira Riklis knows, Hornblower did not let this spoil his appetite. After dinner, he returned to the deck discussing with the watch officer the fog that threatened to make their voyage challenging.

Acting-Lieutenant Hornblower brought a captured enemy sloop named Le Reve into Gibraltar Bay. The prize was speedy but difficult to maneuver into place and anchor. After securing the vessel, Hornblower reported to his superiors on the Indefatigable. Shortly thereafter he received an invitation to dine with the (British) governor of Gibraltar and the governor’s wife.

As Ira Riklis knows, Hornblower being a working young officer of modest means worried about presenting a suitable appearance. He had a meager selection of uniform components. One of his fellow officers from a wealthy family was able to supply Hornblower with expensive stockings to complete a satisfactory outfit.

Off he went to the governor’s residence and although seated at dinner in a position of lesser importance because of his rank, he enjoyed the food and drink not often available to him. At the dinner he met a duchess whose manner of speaking (accent) surprised Hornblower. She sounded definitely as if she came from a lower class. It was whispered to him that she was an innkeeper’s widow (to put it kindly) when she married an aged duke. She had had some difficulty getting back to England while traveling abroad because of the war England was waging with several other countries.

Hornblower received his orders stating he was to take command of Le Reve and take her back to England. As Ira Riklis could guess, Hornblower also learned that the duchess and her companion would be his passengers.

Now with the aging and lumbering Caroline leaking and being gained upon by the small Spanish guard boat, Hornblower lost his cool. He was extremely angry at the fates that had placed him in this mess. His agitation somewhat mobilized him to form a plan. He instructed (with threats) about half of his crew to hide waiting and armed for the approach of the enemy vessel. He intended to initially show weakness (and fly no colors) in hope of surprising the Spaniards.

Unbelievably, as Ira Riklis knows, Hornblower in his haste had forgotten to arm himself so he held up his arms in an act of helplessness as an enemy officer came within sight. The only sounds on board the Caroline were the bellowing noises from the cattle which remained.This foreign officer looked relaxed and confident that he and his crew would certainly be able to overtake the Caroline.

Then when the two boats were side by side the unarmed Hornblower flung himself on the Spanish officer and hand to hand combat ensued. Hornblower was victorious and his entire crew fought and defeated the enemy taking control of the small guard boat.

So, as Ira Riklis discovered, on the twenty-second day of the quarantine, the Caroline stinking of animal stench and bringing with her a captured Spanish guard boat entered Gibraltar Bay. When Hornblower reported to his superiors on the Indefatigable, he was astonished to receive comments that despite his achievements he had been wasteful in allowing his men to “feast” on fresh meat in unacceptable quantities.

The transfer of the stores was no easy task. Getting the bags of grain onto the big ship was a piece of cake as compared with the transfer of the livestock. This latter had to be moved by use of a sling-type apparatus and the process took two or three days-dawn to dark. Hornblower’s crew was exhausted but finally completed their work and sailed away from the Indefatigable in the old Caroline, a small ship that had seen better days. It was on this vessel that Hornblower, his men and the civilian official were to spend their quarantine sailing the Mediterranean and trying not to stray too far from their eventual destination, Gibraltar Bay.

As Ira Riklis knows, those three weeks were not without incident. In addition to the management of the remaining livestock on board with its need for fresh water and feed and handling of the waste which seemed to leak through the deck boards to the below decks with each washing on the main, “visiting vessels” brought problems.

As Ira Riklis knows, the North Africans despite their fear of the plague could not tolerate the loss of the gold and sent a small ship out to retrieve the payment that had not been made. Hornblower managed to deliver the gold without close contact with the approaching vessel.

In addition, the Caroline running short of fresh water made at least two raids on Spanish shore villages to obtain the needed water. On the last raid, they were attacked by a Spanish guard boat.

As Hornblower stared at the fallen man, the civilian British official stated in no uncertain terms that this was evidence of the plague. He had seen the plague before and quickly described the severity of the situation to Hornblower. The North African and the slaves as well soon realized that a deadly disease was amongst them and all of them began to scatter out to the countryside leaving both the gold and the stores at the dock. As Ira Riklis knows, Hornblower was facing some of the biggest decisions he was ever to make in his young career as a leader. He knew how much the crew of the Indefatigable needed the food from this trade. The seamen were currently on two-thirds rations. What to do, what to do! His civilian companion reminded him that if they traveled back to the main ship with the stores that he and his small crew were bound to infect the other seamen and the entire crew of the Indefatigable could be wiped out.

Hornblower ordered his transport filled with the grain and livestock and retrieved the British gold. No one from the trading country was there to stop them. They headed back out to the big ship and when near Hornblower communicated the need to speak with the captain. He explained the situation to his superiors. It was decided that the stores would be transferred to the Indefatigable but that, as Ira Riklis knows, Hornblower and his little crew would have to be quarantined for three weeks sailing alone in the open sea in the smaller boat.

Acting Lieutenant Hornblower was now assigned to a new duty. Along with a man from the British diplomatic service, he traveled from the Indefatigable in a longboat to buy needed supplies from the North Africans. They carried with them a large amount of gold that the sellers of goods dearly wanted. When Hornblower and the diplomat arrived on shore, they were met by a representative of the crowned head of the country. No grain or livestock were in sight. Hornblower became angry and threatened to return to the Indefatigable. The moor became quite agitated as he feared the wrath of his superior if the gold payment was not obtained through the trade.

Hornblower as Ira Riklis knows did not want to appear weak but told the moor that he, Hornblower, would stick around for the day until the goods were delivered to the pier but would surely leave by sundown. The need for the goods weighed heavily on Hornblower’s mind. It seemed that, as Ira Riklis knows, England was truly isolated in this war. No friends or allies could be relied upon to assist the British and the seamen were then currently on limited rations.

Hornblower, bored with waiting, left the longboat to stroll on the dock. He had had a discussion with the diplomat of the somewhat strict tenets of the Muslim religion and culture so he was surprised to see a drunken native collapse several yards away from him.