STO'B 12

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Badger was a floating example of the power of superior gunnery. Her rigging sprawled over her deck and the surrounding sea, tangled with broken spars and broken bodies. She had no wheel, and no rudder to attach one to. Her mainmast leaned drunkenly; her foremast was broken off two feet above the deck. Her sails were a stitched together collection of holes. But, she had won.

The first priority had been to herd the able-bodied prisoners into the hold of their ship. The Frenchmen were dispirited now, but they outnumbered the Badgers heavily, and given time and opportunity they might rise and retake the Chasseur, and possibly take the Badger as well.

Now the Badgers worked to plug the holes in their sloop's hull and pump it free of water. Gangs of men, under the carpenter, fitted plugs into those holes below the waterline and patched the holes above it. The assistant carpenter and the armorer worked on rebuilding the starboard pump, while the port pump flung gallons of water into the sea. The bosun, directing another party, hauled cordage in from the sea. Hammering, cries, and oaths filled the sloop.

Over on the Chasseur, things were much better. Apart from the foretopmast, her masts and spars still stood, though the mainmast would need to be fished if it was to bear any press of sail. Most of her rigging remained in place, and her hull was untouched. Briefly, Philip considered abandoning the Badger and moving into the Chasseur; indeed, his lieutenant suggested they do just that.

"No," said Philip, stung at the suggestion. "Abandon my Badger? Absolutely not. what would the hands think," he added after a brief pause, "if I asked them to abandon their home these last years, all because of a little work? Yes, Mr Scott?" he asked as the carpenter approached.

The carpenter had several questions regarding the relative priority of the many necessary repairs, and the sailmaker followed him with more questions of the same sort. By the time he finished with the Sails, Lt Grey had taken a party of seamen to brace the mainmast, with a lot of shouting and liberal starting, so Philip collected another group to see about extracting the stump of the foremast and finding a replacement.

* * *

Once the immediate repairs were complete - once the Badger was no longer in danger of sinking - Mr South asked Philip's permission to light the galley fires and send the starboard watch, who were theoretically below at this time, to breakfast. Philip was dubious - much work remained to do - but he allowed it, and when the starboard watch had eaten he allowed the master to bring them on deck and send the larboard watch below to eat.

Thus fed, the hands returned to work with greater energy, and just before five bells in the afternoon watch Badger set her fore and main courses on her new foremast and a reshrouded mainmast. Over on the Chassuer, the hands set the maincourse on the fished mainmast, and the wind serving (for the Badger still lacked a rudder, and neither Philip nor the carpenter had yet determined how they might fit one) the two brigs set sail to the east.

No sooner had this occurred than Mr Grey approached his captain on the quarterdeck, where he was deep in conversation with the carpenter regarding the rudder, and reported a breach of discipline.

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