 Call all hands, speak to quarters. It's coward battery. One broadside into it, please, Captain Bush. Point is on target. Link stops ready. Aye, aye, sir, ready. At C.S. Foresters, Indomitable Man of the Sea, Horatio Hornblower. Now, as I climb the quarter deck to report to Captain Bellew, blue is that I've ever seen. The sky also. And where water and sky met, lay the heathen city of Oran. It's minarets and towers, not laid beyond description. Oh, Mr. Hornblower, eager to get ashore, sir? The squadrons in need of supplies. Mr. Tappling here, as you know, is a civilian. A member of the diplomatic corps, side duty of the fleet. Yes, sir. He's arranged with the Bay of Oran to purchase cattle and graves. You will be in charge of the longboat that takes him ashore, Mr. Hornblower. Aye, sir. Tappling, you make every effort you understand. I do. Very well, Captain. We're blockading all of Europe. Nothing but enemies on the entire continent. Unless we manage supplies here, we'll be forced to lift the blockade and sail clear back to England. Well, as always, Gibraltar, sir. What goes, Gibraltar? Now that Spain's joined flants against us, Gibraltar, too, is hard put for supplies. We must have these. Oh, I'll do my best, Captain. But as you know, the Muslims are very tricky fellows. You've 7,000 gold Guinness. Don't pay over toughens of it until the cattle and grain are already loaded in the lighters. By then, you can... Mr. Hornblower. Sir, have your attention been wandering? Oh, I'm sorry, sir. This is a sight of Iran, sir. There was... There's white buildings over there. It looks... It looks so... so clean. Clean? Wait till you lay alongside the dock, Mr. Hornblower. Clean, eh? Try to secure onto that firing. Aye! Mr. Tappling, that man over there standing on the dock. Is he waiting for us, do you think? Big black man in a blue robe. Yes. Yes, that's him, Dürer. Representative of his master, the ruler of Iran. He's very... very picturesque. Picturesque, Hornblower? Yes, everything about this place, it looks... What's wrong, Hornblower? You stopped in mid-flight. Oh, smell! Oh, the breeze shifted suddenly. I got a whiff. Oh. Mr. Tappling, it smells... smells unclean. Like a... like a pest-hole. Mr. Dürer, allow me to present Mr. Hornblower over his Britannic Majesty's navy. Yes, yes. You have brought with you the gold in the boat, right below us. Good, good. I will take the gold and bring you the supplies. Oh, no, thank you. First the supplies, then the gold. Oh, he's nonsense. You do not trust the Bay of Iran? I appeal to you, Mr. Hornblower. Hornblower. I'm sorry, Mr. Dürer, but I must agree with Mr. Tappling. There was lighters beside the dock. They're... they're for supplies. Yes, for the cattle and the grain. Four hundred fat cattle, Dürer, and fifteen hundred funigas of barley grain. It is already. This is not all yet here, Mr. Dürer. Once it's here, on board the lighters will transport to our supply ship the Carolina. Well, I agree with Mr. Tappling. Oh, well, something troubles you, Dürer. Forgive me, Effendi. I am not well at this heat, or perhaps it's worry about what the Bay will do to you if we take the gold and depart. Oh, never, never. Please, to wait. I will return with the supplies long before nightfall. Please, wait. Look at that, Hornblower. Yes, I saw it. Oh, big one. All rats are digging, or an... But did you notice how it's tumbled, entering that drain pipe as if it were drunk? Out beyond the harbor, the indepatecable stood down the furled sail where the cattle line beside her. Ooh, unpleasant, but we drew small comfort from it. It is. In long robes came and went. One of them seemed almost as badly off as the rat. Hey, Tappling. Isn't that Dürer coming back? Oh, let me see. Yes, it is. With a string of loaded donkeys and a herd of cattle and men carrying grain sacks. Scrawny cattle. Yeah, we're lucky to get even these. All right, Mr. Dürer. Load them on the light-os and we'll hand over the gold. Lively now. And look, there's three of them fainted already, Tappling. So long as they finish the loading, Hornblower. Look, they just lie there and they all act as if they were drunk. You know, it's pretty curious. It's the sun. Here's Dürer now. Capitol, Mr. Dürer, everything's just about on board. Oh, Hornblower, if you'll have that gold handed out, Tappling. Hey, wait a minute. What? Mr. Dürer, Dürer, what is it? What's the matter? I am most ill-bored. Oh, no, gladious, that is. He swine on the stiff clothes, wise to the wise. I soared. I feel burning up. Oh, the sun. No, my head. My... Oh, neither were the others. Nor that first Muslim who keeled over. Nor was it the sun, by heavens, and that rat, Hornblower. That rat that had difficulty in finding the drain pipe. Yes, do you think it's... It's the plague, the Black Death. I saw it in Smyrna in 1994. Special to the next dock, the Karstinosa, rowing out to sea. The whole town is in a panic. Look at them running everywhere. There's no sense of leaving the gold sitting here on dark side. Matthews, Hunter, pass it back on board the longboat. But, sir, I confound you, that is an order. What do we do now? We've already picked up the plague. Desolation the next morning, and the squadron left us behind. Signal gun from the Indefatigable Tatling. Oh, saying fair well, eh? Getting a salute is an acting lieutenant. I hope I can prove worthy of it now. We'll be prepared to set sail and leave the Gulf of Oran. And before we did, one of the Moorish craft called Zebex came rowing out from the harbor. Strange gibberish was called at us. You have been fighting the Hunter, Hunter, when you get the head of him. Well, that's what they're saying, Tatling. Can you make it out? Well, something about their money, I think. Their money? All the 7,000 guineas. Well, at least they're not frightened enough of the plague to forget that, are they? Well, they're frightened enough to stay well clear. Well, the money's theirs. There's no doubt about that. Well, how do we get it to them unless we close in? Well, eh, tell them we'll seal it up in a couple of run-punctions and float it down to them. I'm just as anxious to stay clear of them as they are of us. Matthews, sir. Oh, and Matthews, have the crew stand by to hoist sail. We belong three weeks ahead of us. Board the caravan. We've got 20 men to handle her. We had our hands full. We'll have no other problems as well. Eh, sir, this now smells worse than all renders. We'll have to do something about them cattle, sir. The men will have to do double duty, Matthews. I want every man to stand the second watch. And it'll be employed in mucking out. Mucking out? Cleaning the cattle stalls, Matthews. Have you ever been a farmer? Cleaning out the stalls. What is it, Father? Don't tell me the men are complaining of their rations. We're giving every one of you fresh meat. We slaughter a bullock a day. Oh, no, sir, it ain't that. That fresh meat is welcome. Well, there ain't hardly one of us ever tasted a steak before. No, sir, it's this Greek. She's leaking very bad, sir. She's leaking very bad. We'll man the pumps. Pumps night and day. No, Matthews. No sign of plague, is there? There's no sign of plague for that. We're 15 days out of Oran already. No sign of plague, yes. We may escape it entirely. There's something else we can't escape, sir. We've run out of water. What, sir? Aye, sir, clean out. Yes, but there was plenty. Captain Tullew had the cattle iron well stocked before the squadron left us. He forgot about them cattle, sir. They drinks water, too. Gallons of it. The quarantine period is three weeks, Matthews. We've got to hang on out here for another six days. Somewhere. Can't be done, sir. Not without fresh water. Sir, they started a sale around the far point. What? They think it's a Spanish Coastal Gold Lugger. Coast Guard, eh? Matthews. Sir? How many hands do you think that lugger carries? How many, sir? A word. I should judge 25. Yes, sir. I will have the outside 30, and we have 20. Sir, you ain't thinking nothing. I am. I am. Listen. She carries four, eight pounders. So long as she doesn't stand off and use them, we may have a chance. Sir? Aye, sir. I want you to choose two men and show yourselves up here at the helm with me. Aye, aye, sir. I want everybody else to stay out of sight behind the railing. Hand out pistols and cutleresses to all hands, Matthews. Aye, sir. Mr. Tappley may also serve, so see that he's armed. I want every man ready to jump. And if a man shows himself before I give the order, you will shoot him, Matthews, with your own hand. Aye, aye, sir. We're showing no colors. Our plans legal under the laws of war. The weight of the lugger comes alongside the men. Order. They stand off. No, let's hope they don't, Matthews. Their job is to apprehend smugglers. Let them take us for smugglers and we have a chance. A good chance. But even now how excited I was, how my knees trembled and to what pains I went to conceal it. And I remember being grateful for those cattle. All that voyage they've grated on my nerves with their mournful bellowing. But now I welcomed it. Who would expect a ship laden with cattle to be prepared to fight? A warning shot, sir? Yes. How far back? I'm going to heap two, aren't I? You men, main tops or braces? They don't suspect nothing, sir. They're laughing. About the cattle I expect. Some board is about to wireless, sir. Arm yourself, sir. You've got a pistol. I'm certain that my voice cracked when I gave the command for my crew to follow me. I ran across the deck and with a gulp flung myself down upon the Spaniard's deck. And the men came pouring down. Things have much in all my life. Taking a prize. And we were fortunate, Mr. Tatling. Why, I've never... Hornblower, I think, forgot why. There hasn't been a sign of the plague since we set out. Quarantine period will soon be over. Can't we head for Gibraltar with safety? I'm certain of it, Mr. Tatling. Lieutenant Hornblower, safely in with supplies for the fleet and a prize to boot. Expected praise, I got little of it. I reported to Captain Ballew. Lodded and dismissed me. And the only comment I received came from the chief commissary of the squadron when I presented to him my accounting of the supplies. Mr. Hornblower, do me to tell me that you allowed your crew to eat fresh beef, a bullocker day for your men, that was once an extravagance, Mr. Hornblower. I'm surprised at you. Yes, sir.