She left in tears of emotion and Kydd resumed his vigil at his spyglass. More men landed at Fornells; with a tug of pride, Kydd saw seamen rig lines ashore to land artillery pieces. Once there, they passed drag-lines and began man-hauling the guns along the roads inland. The end could not possibly be in doubt.
‘Brindemos por la victoria!’ José’s affable toast came as he handed Kydd a glass of Xoriguer.
‘Thank ye – whatever y’ said! Must say, sir, this is a rare drop. Y’ good self, Mr José!’
‘Who the devil—?’ stuttered Colonel Paget, in command of the approaching troops. Kydd was wearing his begrimed uniform recovered from the cave, without cocked hat and sword.
‘L’tenant Kydd, HMS Tenacious, y’r duty, sir. I make apology f’r my appearance.’
‘As you should, sir,’ the colonel replied, eyeing Kydd askance. ‘And may I know why you are not on your ship?’
‘Sir?’
‘The Spanish fleet at sea and not you? Hey? Hey?’
‘Sir, I’ve spent several days behind th’ Spanish lines an’ have not had news. I’d be obliged if you’d confide th’ progress of the landing.’
‘I see. Well, sir, be assured we’re rolling up their rearguard in fine style and have this hour taken Mercadal. The Spanish are retiring on Ciudadela – General Stuart is in pursuit but has required me to take a fast column to lay against Port Mahon. I am at this moment at the business of forming it up.’
‘The Spanish fleet, sir?’
‘Yes, yes,’ Paget said testily. ‘It seems they were sighted falling on us from the west and the commodore took all his ships to sea to meet ’em. There’s none still here, Mr Kydd.’
Kydd ground his teeth and cursed his luck. That morning while he had been cautiously making contact with the advancing soldiers Tenacious was now possibly in a climactic battle that would decide the fate of Minorca. If this was the Cartagena fleet they were in serious trouble.
‘Sir, what ships were sighted?’ Kydd asked urgently.
‘Dammit – five, six big ones, I don’t remember,’ the colonel said, clearly tiring of the exchange.
For Kydd it was mortifying news – and left him stranded with no way to rejoin his ship. But he could not stand idly by while others went on to face the enemy. ‘Sir, I do offer m’ services to ye. Mahon has a dockyard an’ big harbour and it would be very strange if there weren’t any ships there. I could help ye secure ’em as prizes.’
Paget raised his eyebrows. ‘And, no doubt, put yourself in the way of some prize-money.’ Kydd bristled but Paget went on genially, ‘But you’re in the right of it, sir – I’ll need someone who knows the ropes to make sure the dons don’t set the dockyard afire or any other foolishness. Right, sir. Your offer is handsomely accepted. Do ask the quartermaster for something a little more fitting for an officer, if you catch my meaning. We move off at dawn.’
In a startling mix of buff army breeches, a navy lieutenant’s coat and an infantry cocked hat, Kydd went out to meet the seamen just arriving after man-hauling the guns overland. The pieces would soon be finding employment in laying siege to the walled town of Ciudadela.
‘Good Lord above! Of what species of warrior are you, sir?’ said the young naval lieutenant in charge of them.
‘Why, in th’ uniform t’ be expected of the officer-in-charge o’ the naval detachment in the assault on Port Mahon,’ Kydd said loftily.
‘Naval detachment?’ the man said, puzzled.
‘Yes. I mean t’ press half a hundred of y’r men, if y’ please.’ A quick glance told him that at fifty men each on the dozen or so guns there were more than five hundred in all, probably contributed evenly by each ship in the squadron including his own: they could spare a tenth of their number.
‘Press my men!’ the lieutenant stared in amazement and began to laugh. At Kydd’s glare his mirth tailed away.
‘We must secure th’ dockyard, board all ships in harbour and attend t’ any prisoners,’ Kydd said, in a hard voice. ‘I don’t think fifty men overmuch f’r the task, d’ you?’
He looked past the officer at the weary men coiling down the drag-lines, pulling off encamping kit and flexing tired muscles. He strode over to them, leaving the lieutenant to hurry along behind. ‘I say, this is out of order, sir! You may not—’
‘If I have t’ ask th’ colonel he’ll make it a hundred,’ Kydd snapped, without looking back. He had spotted Dobbie from Tenacious.
The stocky seaman’s face creased with pleasure as Kydd went up to him. ‘Sir! Never thought ter see yez again, goin’ ashore with them dagoes.’