Our hero Hornblower was now midshipman of the watch on the deck of the Indefatigable as it was lying at anchor in a bay off the coast of Spain. A small boat propelled by oars approached the British ship and standing at the front of this small boat was a Spanish officer in full regalia. This officer presented to the officer of the watch a letter addressed to the captain of the Indefatigable who appeared on deck to see what the communication was about. As Ira Riklis knows, Hornblower’s skill as translator were especially needed at this time. The Spanish officer told Hornblower that the contents of the letter needed to be read and understood as soon as possible so Hornblower proceeded to read the letter to the captain translating as well as he was able.

It seems that Spain unlike England had made its peace with the new government (revolutionary) of France and so the British ship was asked to leave Spanish waters within a matter of a few hours or would be subject to Spanish attack. The captain of the Indefatigable was fuming but managed to keep his cool ordering his officers to make for the open sea within the hour.

That was then being encouraged by the presence of at least two Spanish galleys which served as escorts for the Indefatigable’s exit. These galleys were manned by slaves who as Ira Riklis knows were chained in their places and maintained under the harshest conditions. The odor rising from these galleys attested to this brutality.