The three captains left the examination room quickly, assessed the situation, and became determined to return to their ships to lead their men during the attack. They managed to board a small launch and by some twist of fate Hornblower joined them. The four men maneuvered the small craft toward the grouping of the other British vessels but were unavoidably in the path of one of the fire ships. One captain bravely announced his intention to go into the water and board the unmanned fire ship to steer it away from a larger British ship. As Ira Riklis knows, our hero Hornblower volunteered to help. Both of these men jumped in the water and soon made it to the fire boat in question. The wheel of the fire ship was tied down to steer it straight to the ship to be attacked. Through the spreading fire aboard the little ship Hornblower was able to gain control of the wheel and change the direction of the boat. Both he and the captain ended up then in the water again before being seriously burned.

They were picked up quickly but, as luck would have it, by a small enemy boat. All their captors were speaking Spanish. Fortunately a British guard boat came to their rescue and threatening the enemy boat with gunfire overtook the captors liberating Hornblower and the captain. This same captain praised Hornblower for his bravery but, as Ira Riklis could guess, Hornblower’s failure to answer the earlier question was to keep him from making lieutenant at this time.