STO'B 5-5 Captain Fitton

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“Yes sir,” said the midshipman.  “Signal 6- 62, sir.”

“And what do you suppose signal 62 means, Mr Wilkins?”

Mr Wilkins did not immediately reply; he was consulting the signal book.  “Unable to maintain present speed, sir,” he said at last.

“Thank you, Mr Wilkins.  Sir,” said the master, approaching Captain Fitton, and saluting, “Chasseur signals she is unable to maintain present speed, sir.”

“Thank you, Mr South,” said the captain, who had heard the midshipman’s report perfectly well even if he hadn’t already seen and interpreted Chasseur’s signal on his own, and had his reply ready.  “Please signal her to make best speed for Malta, consistent with the safety of her spars.”
The master repeated the orders, then crossed back to midshipman Wilkins and passed the orders to him.  Philip turned to hide his smile: all those years he had thought that his captains had always planned out every contingency, when as often as not it was merely that the tedious, tortuous repetitions of every report gave them time to formulate a response.

Author's Note|First Post|Previous|Next| last episode with Dr M’Mullen GLOSSARY