Hornblower: Loyalty Page #6

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send a more experienced officer.

Insist,

captain hammond?

No, sir.

It is i who insist

That you listen

to the plan.

Captain hornblower will

indeed attack the semaphore

With a small party and signal

his success with a blue rocket.

Might i suggest that i launch

the attack today at dusk,

Making the most

of the evening mist?

Good. Then as dawn

breaks, captain hammond,

You will lead a party of

marines and storm the battery

And indicate that it is

taken by two red rockets.

Will be an honor, sir.

Prodigious, doughty.

I trust this is more

to your liking, sir.

Yes. Well, i don't think it's

quite that simple, doughty.

We have to mount

the attack first.

Come on, captain hornblower.

Fire the first broadside.

Let's see what lies

below in the dungeon, sir.

Thank you.

Hammond:
well, it's easy enough

to demolish a pie crust

Or burn a signal tower,

come to that.

You'll include my nephew

in your shore party, no doubt.

Well, your man is so eager to

serve with captain hornblower?

Oh, he's destined

for great things, sir.

I trust you'll allow him to temper

his steel in the fires of combat.

Oh, i shall certainly consider him, sir.

Well, while you're at it, you

might consider taking someone else.

Your raiding party is gonna

need a good french speaker,

And i know

just the man.

Allo, monsieur bush.

Save your linguistic skills

for the action, major.

As you wish.

Mr. Matthews, you will stay

at the boat with the marines

Once we've landed

to cover our retreat.

Aye, aye, sir.

Mr. Orrock, you'll be in

charge of the demolition party.

You better call

for volunteers

To carry the explosives and the fuses.

I'd be glad to, sir.

Good man.

Better find somebody

to give you a hand.

Carry on, mr. Orrock. Aye, aye, sir.

You heard

the captain, wolfe.

Aye, aye, sir.

Now then...

Who wants to volunteer

for the nice little job

Of carrying

the explosives?

Hornblower:
mr. Hammond,

report to my cabin.

Come on, lads. Explosives

are nothing to worry about

Unless you're careless.

Then your worries

are over.

You worried, styles?

Yes.

Good man.

Then you won't

be careless, will you?

Hornblower:
you asked to

serve with me, and you have.

Should you now

request a transfer,

It will not reflect on your

character or reputation.

I don't want

a transfer, sir.

I don't know why you

should think otherwise.

My family has high

expectations of me, sir.

I'm not asking your family, mr. Hammond.

War is

a bloody business...

And any man in his right

mind would avoid it,

Given

half the chance.

With respect, sir,

no man would avoid it

Who cared about his

character or reputation.

Please take me

with you, sir.

He wants a password.

Damn his eyes.

Tell him we've got a lobster

for his officer or something.

Bien!

Quietly there.

Matthews, you're in

charge here. Aye, aye, sir.

Ready party,

follow me.

Bonsoir, monsieur.

Oui?

Right. Mr. Orrock, get

those charges placed.

Styles, stop hiding

behind that woman's skirt

And lend a hand, man.

Give me the fuse.

Well, i haven't got it, sir.

Wolfe's got it.

There's no sign

of wolfe, sir.

Sir!

Listen.

Mr. Hammond.

Sir?

Run and tell

mr. Matthews

We'll be returning

directly. Go.

And get him out

of here.

And everybody out.

But how do we

ignite the charges

Without a fuse, sir?

Styles...

Aim the rocket

at the doorway.

Ready, sir.

That was

signal enough.

Come on.

Present!

Hold your fire.

Where's

the captain, sir?

They've been cut off.

Give me 6 men. Tell

them to fix bayonets.

No. There's a company

of soldiers

Headed up there

and more on the way.

We must do

what we can, sir.

No. No. We must rejoin.

If we stay on this beach, we'll

be cut down where we stand.

We can't leave without

the captain, sir.

For god's sakes, matthews,

the captain's been cut off.

Get the men

into the boats.

Not without

an order, sir.

Those are his orders,

damn you!

We'll descend the cliff

to the beach.

I need two men here

to slow their advance.

I will stay.

I'd rather have you

with me, major.

Trust me.

I'm right behind you.

And i will stay,

too, sir.

Very well. You two,

give them your pistols.

Don't leave it

too late.

We'll see you at the

bottom of the cliff.

Follow me.

Aah!

Where are

the bloody marines?

All right, lads.

Well done.

And he ordered you

to withdraw the marines?

He saw the french

reinforcements

Advancing on the signal post, sir.

He told me

to run ahead

And evacuate

the jetty.

Matthews?

We wanted to wait

for him, sir.

Thank you, mr. Hammond.

Return to your duties.

Aye, aye, sir.

Dismissed, matthews.

Sir.

Yes?

Nothing, sir.

Orders, sir?

Signal to the flagship,

"Captain taken in shore

action. Report to follow. "

Aye, aye, sir.

Styles:
ohh. Chained up

in a bloody store room.

Hornblower:
there could be

worse prison cells, styles.

There's no way to break

out of this, captain.

So we'll be prisoners

for the rest of the war.

Cheer up,

mr. Orrock.

If the admiral

prevails,

It will be

a very short war.

Le commandant.

Wolfe.

Eat, captain.

My cook is

a french chef,

Not an english

jailbird.

He can prepare

a meal

Without setting fire

to the galley.

You set that fire

on the ship.

I did all i could as a humble coxswain.

I do not eat

with traitors.

I'm no traitor.

You fight

for bonaparte.

I fight for ireland.

Bonaparte is merely

a means to an end.

He's a tyrant, man.

Why does an irishman

put his faith in him?

To save ireland

from worse tyrants.

You english have been lording

it over us for long enough.

You'll hang, man.

Bonaparte has used

irish rebels in the past,

And every time,

he has failed,

And every time, they

have died on the gallows.

I won't hang,

hornblower.

But you will.

Sneaking ashore dressed as a fisherman

In search

of military secrets.

Now, i believe they

call that spying.

Then you are

as guilty as me.

You passed word

to the loire

About our rendezvous.

How could i?

I was on board the

hotspur the whole time.

So your task

was to delay us

Long enough for the loire to intervene.

Well done, captain.

So there must be someone more

handily placed within the fleet.

I bet you'd love

to know who he is.

If i'm to hang, it'd cost

you nothing to tell me.

It would be

a cruel fate indeed

To go

to the gallows

Tormented

by the fact

That you have no idea who betrayed you.

Guard.

Enjoy your meal, wolfe.

Once admiral pellew

is done,

You won't be dining

on breton lobster.

When we're done,

Breton lobster will be

dining on admiral pellew.

Bush:
sir, i could sent a

party ashore to look for him.

No, mr. Bush.

Hornblower may have destroyed

their communications,

But captain hammond still

has to cripple their defenses

By taking the battery,

And nothing must interfere

with his mission.

But, sir, it need only be a small party.

We could even create

a diversion.

Sir, i owe it

to him.

We owe it to him.

Damn it, bush, do you

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