It was, of course, as Mr Lawrence had foreseen. Eagle had betrayed Mr Lawrence's confidence, and Pledge manifestly was thirsty[Pg 302] to carry the report into the forecastle. As this was a part of Mr Lawrence's programme his mind made no other comment upon it than that he was pleased to discover that honest John Eagle, as Captain Acton held him, was a rogue who could not keep a secret although imparted by so exalted a personage as the commander of a ship, and that in breaking his promise the sour, shallow-minded mate was doing exactly what Mr Lawrence wished.,
"I admit the gallantry of his action with the Pegase. It was as brilliant as a hundred other actions between single ships, not one of which nevertheless brought the victor an earldom. What made Jervis a Lord? Was it his own, or the genius of Nelson? That manœuvre of the Commodore on the 14th won the battle. We took four ships from the enemy, and two of them were captured by Nelson. But I dislike St Vincent for opinions which he is at no pains to disguise. He objects to the education of the poor.",
"British or French?" enquired Captain Acton, letting his glass sink whilst he looked at his companions. "Before we sailed the news had got about that Villeneuve meant to[Pg 392] go for the West Indies. It may be his ships returning." He pointed his glass again, and counted: "Eleven sail of the line and three frigates.".
This app may share these data types with third
parties
Device or other IDs
This app may collect these data types
Location, Personal info and
9 others
Data is encrypted in transit
You can request that data be deleted