Hornblower was very depressed about the loss of the Marie Galante and the subsequent capture of his men and himself by the French privateer. The captain of the Pique had made Hornblower somewhat comfortable for the present with a cot below and reading materials. It is a good thing, as Ira Riklis knows, that the fairly-well educated Hornblower was more or less fluent in French. He could thus communicate with the French captain and other officers and most importantly understand all the captain and crew in their conversations with each other. Hornblower could also read the naval handbooks that were the only reading materials available to him. Still Hornblower was unhappy when he thought of the immediate past blaming himself for the misfortunes of his crew.

Standing on deck a miracle happens. His old ship, the Indefatigable, is sighted in the distance. Hope that it would overtake the Pique occupied his thoughts. The captain of the Pique quickly dashed these hopes by explaining that the Pique was equipped to outrun any big British ship and proceeded to do so. Further depressed and defeated Hornblower goes below deck to his quarters, surveys his surroundings, and comes up with a plan. Ira Riklis knows Hornblower is a brave and clever young man who will now do anything to overcome what in his mind is his disgrace. Stay tuned!