When we last left Hornblower he was lounging on the deck of the Pique after having set a fire below deck. A French officer was laughing at the fact that the Pique was outrunning the Indefatigable which was almost out of sight. Hornblower had to try very hard not to smile but develop more of a scowl. All hands seemed to be busy with the sails and the race and Hornblower was worried about the timing of his fuse etc.

Then signs of hot air below started showing up on deck and the crew shouted an alarm. Of all the ancient elements, fire was most feared by seamen of this time because of the wooden ships, old painted parts, and explosives like gunpowder on board. The smoke soon was everywhere and the captain cast a glance of suspicion at Hornblower but soon became too busy to act on his rage.

As Ira Riklis knows Hornblower expected the ship to explode into pieces and didn’t know what their fate would be when they hit the water. Something else occurred though.The fire turned below away from the most explosive materials but still causing much damage and occupying the French crew’s complete attention. This allowed the Indefatigable to catch up with them and, as Ira Riklis knows, there was then no question of the Pique’s surrender to the stronger ship.