 Call all hands, beat the quarters! This terrible battery! One broadside into it, if you please, Captain Bush. Pointes on target! Lint stops ready! Aye aye sir, ready! Fire! In Michael Redgrave at C.S. Forester's Indomitable Man of the Sea, Horatio Hornblower. I had unsatisfaction. I had been given through the Caligula, and in 24 hours I had captured a French Brig laden with military supplies, destroyed the heavy batteries at Lancer, and taken seven small grafts, and cut out and taken a French ship under the guns of the Port-Fondres batteries. The coast was in confusion, and I was at least a thousand pounds the richer in prize money. But I hope to do much more yet in the remaining time. The question was, how? You said for me, sir? Ah, Brown, can you swim, Brown? Swim? Well, yes, sir. Good, well, I want a crew for the barge. Everyone a good swimmer and every man a volunteer. Aye, sir, let all volunteer. Now, Marky Brown, this is for dangerous service. I want true volunteers, none of your press gang. Aye, sir, are you going, sir? Yes. It'll be hard to pick them, sir. They'll all want to go. Well, I'll leave it to you. Yes, you were cutlass to each man, and a packet of combustibles. Aye, sir, come, come, come what, sir? Combustibles, flint and steel. A couple of port fires, oily rags, and a bit of slow match. All in an oil skin packet. And a land yet to carry them if we swim. Yes, get your crew ready immediately. Aye, sir, right away, sir. You have a plan in mind, sir? Yes, Mr. Bush, going ashore to burn that coaster over there. Oh, but could I take the clue, sir? I'm not allowed volunteers to go on a mission if I can't lead them. But if I call for volunteers... The wasting time, Mr. Bush, I can't accept your offer. I should take my barge. The long boat and launch draw too much water. And Mark this, Mr. Bush, no rescue parties. If we're lost, we're lost. We're living valuable lives in rescue attempts. Um, shall I give you that in writing? No, need, sir. I understand, but... All right, well, heed the ship, too. Stand off and on and wait for us. I pulled eight oars, and I sat beside Brown while we danced lightly over the blue Mediterranean. I sat, of course, to reach the shore a little ahead of the Brown sail, which was just showing over the strip of coast. We crossed the line of sluggish breakers and darted in towards the Golden Beach. A moment later, the boat balked, slid over sand, moved a few yards more, and then grounded. Over with you, man. I'll run the boat up the beach. This is fire packets. Right, steadily up the beach, don't use too much energy. We may have a long swim. Make for that low bank of single at the head of the beach. It's a vineyard on the other side. Look, there's a sail, not a quarter of a mile away beyond the vineyard. Four men, sir, and two women. They're all evil, something. Yes, well, ignore them. Go on, man. The coaster was 150 yards away, and my sword dangling from my naked waist hampered me and already seemed heavy as lead. The men, however, said strongly ahead, and by the time we neared the coaster, I was a bad last. The men scrambled up into the low waist of the vessel and then waited to help me aboard. Must have looked a strange sight. Naked but armed. Yet in the tenseness of the moment, our nakedness was forgotten. I walked off towards the little group of men and women trying to recollect my few words of French. Opsen, there's a dinghy over side. Draw it in, and I'll order them into it. Oh, Bateau. Ah, entre dans le bateau. Ah, Bateau. Ah, Bateau. Ah, Bateau. Here, all do it, sir. Hey, you! Open up the boat, or else I'll knock you precious in off, see? Yeah, I thought you'd understand that. Yes, thank you, Brian. Enter the boat with all of them and cast it adrift. Well, that's them, Seville sir. Look, they're making for the two-poff. Well, never mind them. Set the ship on fire. Take three men below and see what you can do there. Opsen, you and the others get some of those Hauts-de-Battres up. Oh, yes, sir, sir. You and the others get some of those deck planks up. Oh, thank you, sir. Cargo is all in barrels and great insects, sir. Oil and grease, huh? We stove in some barrels and rip the sex. It's burning like powder, sir. Stand by to abandon ship. All present? Round, David, and get your shirt, sir. No, no time. We must leave our clothes. A few clothes for a ship and valuable cargo is a good exchange. Would you like old men's trousers, sir? Ask for them off and be damned to him. No, come along. Back to the vineyard. Fall in behind. We're jumbling, we did the job naked, and we'll go back naked. Now, up into the vineyard with you now. Osman riding across the vineyard towards us, sir. He's got a new uniform and a cocked hat. What? Give me a hand. Let me see. The burner points are done. Well, surely the captain isn't coming aboard and taking the salute like that? Mr. Gerard, when the captain comes aboard, he'll be received as the captain, dressed or undressed. Tell the side boys and the Marines that if I see one of them with the suspicion of a smile in his face, I'll have him flogged. Aye, aye, sir. For the purposes of receiving him aboard, Captain Hornblower is in full dress, Mr. Gerard. Yes, Mr. Bush, of course. I can see that now. It's very visible, thank you, Bush. There's nothing untoward occurred, I hope so. Nothing, whatever, Mr. Bush. Please put the ship aboard. Easterly breeze seemed not to have cooled at all by its passage of nearly 400 miles across the Mediterranean from Italy. Land slipping by along the Labard beam seemed to void of all life. Yet along the base of those lofty, grey-green hills ran the most important high road in Catalonia, the road connecting Barcelona with France. And as I talked again with Spanish officers who'd come out to my ship at dawn in a fishing boat, I felt that this new day promised to be as productive as the previous two. You're certain, Colonel Villena, that this army of General Peanots will march along this very road? They must, Captain. Ten thousand of them. Peanots and Lekki's division of the Italian army. It was at Tordel that I lost my own regiment. Their army cut us to pieces and I only escaped myself by riding until my horse dropped under me. But there is more than the loss of my regiment to a then-serve. The Italians have burned every village in the uplands. Every road is lined with gallows and upon every gallows is a Spanish corpse. Horrible. Well, sir, we must see what we can do. Mr. Bush, clear for action, if you please. I'll have the guns loaded and run out, too. Aye, aye, sir. Captain, train your glass there. Where? It's not that, Inspector. Far up on the hill, a horseman. I'd believe it is and riding towards us. There's a sort of moving smudge behind him. I suspect it to be the advance guard of the army. You can see an occasional sparkle and flash as the sun catches their equipment. I can edge him quite closely here, if necessary. You can see them quite plainly now. They are cavalry riding with drawn sabers. They fear an ambush, but I do not know where an opposition is likely to come from. We must see if we can provide some, Colonel. What's that long line of white dots beyond the cavalry? Looks like a long caterpillar with white legs all moving together. It is, anyway, Captain. It is the white breeches of a column of infantry. On the horse, change! Why, look, sir. They're waving their hats to us. Very friendly the whole thing. And they don't seem a bit worried. I doubt if they've ever encountered a ship before or been cannon-ed from the sea. Their officers are used to opposing armies, but they have no experience of a ship's broadside. They'll probably regard us as a welcome break in a monotonous march. Mr. Jenner, I'll train the guns on the road and only fire when I give you the signal. All right, sir. Starboard appointment, sir. It's murder, but I fear it must be done. I'll pass that headland and come back again, Mr. Bush. They've done considerable damage, I think. Yes, sir. Just look at the road. It's littered with them, and the hillside's covered with men trying to get away. Their officers will never round them up. Ah, there's a battery of artillery at the end of the next column, sir. Yes, nine pounder field pieces. They'll need stuff against our broadside. But, by heaven, they're going to try. Look at this officer galloping down the line. He's ordering the guns into action. Here, wear a ship, Mr. Bush. We'll stand in and give them a sporting target. Aye, aye, sir. Nine tenders. Reserve your fire for the battle, dear Mr. Jarad. That officer's a gallant man. He's trying to get one gun working. He's too late. Our speed is taking us out of range. He's a second division of infantry, sir. Look at him, scattering up the hillside even before we get to him. Yes, don't fire at them, Mr. Jarad. It's as damaging to an army to be scattered and demoralized as to be killed. Oh, I doubt if our men will understand that. Ah, do you see that group of horsemen above the road there? Gold trappings and glooms? The staff of the army, I'll swear. Mr. Jarad, we will give a little attention to that group up there, if you please. Aye, sir. This is a full scene that I'd arranged on the care. Wonderful, so wonderful. I hope General Pinot himself was amongst them. I hope he was killed. No, I hope... Spare us your blood-zesty comments, Colonel. I have no love for this sort of warfare and take no delight in causing suffering. I do it because I must. I prefer an action where there's danger on both sides. My word, look at this, sir. We're not as safe as all that. A basket ball embedded in the red half its depth. Their fire is reaching us. Aye, you see, Colonel? The Colonel seems to have more urgent business on the other side of the quarter deck. Thank you, Mr. Bush, I shall be glad when we reach the rear of the column. This slaughter seconds me. Ah, but we're killing the enemy, sir. That's all I care about. Hello, what's this, sir? Daggid strains. Yes. Those carts with four horses to them must be ammunition caissons. They'll have target practice. Single guns only. Let them fire broadsides and they'll miss on purpose. Fire on rotation! No more ungun! It's slowly along the shore. Our guns spoke out one by one, hurling a half-full of grapeshot onto the road. It was with sorrow almost amounting to anguish that I watched horses and mules go down before that deadly fire. But I maintained a cold, impassive face throughout. A few of the mules managed to leap the bank out of the road and scramble up the hillside, scattering their loads as they went. And then, as we passed the last of the ammunition train and came to a new line of carts, I observed a man standing up in one of the carts and frantically waving a white handkerchief. So they want to surrender, sir. Ridiculous. He must know that no surrender could be put into effect. He must take his chance. What's he doing now? He seems to be trying to pick something up from the floor, the guard. He tried to lift it. Now, cease fire! Cease fire! It's a man he's holding up, a bandaged man. Those are the army ambulance vehicles full of sick and wounded from yesterday's battle with Villena's regiment. That officer must be a surgeon. He has put the ship about, Mr. Bush. We will retrace our course and harrass the main body again. Aye, aye, sir. Stand by to go about. Aye, sir. Hands to places! It won't be so easy on this deck, sir. We'll have to stay at close hold and if we make three knots, we'll be doing well. We should do the best we can, then. Deck the compass from the road, sir. We've got three guns in the position, sir. Very well. We'll see what we can do. Mr. Gerard, carry on with your target practice. Aye, sir. In a way, Mr. Bush, this is a good thing. Our crew is raw and there's a vast difference between shooting undisturbed and shooting under returned fire. We'll see how they behave. Those fellow, the good gunners, that one was close. That was closer, sir. Look at that hole in that capsule. I should think... Some casualties, I think. Use your bi-chaser guns on the battery. It may unsteady their gun layers. There's plenty of targets in here. They can't reach the field guns, sir. Look at their soldiers scutting all over the hillside, sir. Yes, their officers are going to have a difficult time reassembling them and many will desert. I understand that these Italian divisions deserve riddling. They have no love for bonaparte scores. That stays parted, sir. Send some captain up and splice that stay! What will be in Coats Rage presently, sir? What the devil's that? One of the ship's boys has been hit from the sound of it. Mr. Gerard, I'm going to put the helm down now. Be ready to fire as the gun's where. Ah, sir. Round she comes. Why? They gunners are running, sir. They're not going to wait for it. Had too much last time, I expect. Let them have it, lads! Gun left on the road. Stand out to see a captain's portion. Maybe it done all we can here. By the time we get in again the remains of the army will have withdrawn. Aye, aye, sir. Starwood! It's not caped on the deck like a schoolboy. Yes. Oh, the gun room's stood. You may find that our casualties are nothing to cheer about. Begging your pardon, sir, but Tom Crib's been killed. Tom Crib? I remember no man of that name. Mr. Bush, surely the heavyweight boxing champion of England is named Tom Crib, isn't he? That ain't all, sir. There's Mrs. Siddons. She's got a splinter in her. Well, sir, to tell the truth, she's got a splinter where she won't be able to sit down, sir. Squill something horrible when I pulled it out, she did, sir. Mrs. Siddons, are you mad, man, or am I? Tom Crib and Mrs. Siddons, two of the pigs belong into the gun room. Pigs? What, are they our only casualties? Ah, Mr. Walsh, are you any casualties? Not among men, sir, but I'm afraid that Tom Crib and Mrs. Siddons are. Thank you, Mr. Walsh. I already have a report on the condition of Crib and Siddons. Mr. Bush, you may issue God to all hands. Splice the main place! Music composed and conducted by Sidney Torch.