“Sponge out!” said Hornblower; and then, louder, “Six charges!”
He came down to Bush.
“One splash pretty close,” said Bush.
“Two very short,” said Hornblower, “and one far out on the right. I know who fired that one and I’ll deal with him.”
“One splash I didn’t see,” said Bush.
“Nor did I, sir. Clean over, perhaps. But possibly a hit.”
The men with the charges came running up to the platform, and the eager crews seized them and rammed them home and the dry wads on top of the charges.
“Six shot!” shouted Hornblower to Saddler; and then, to the gun captains, “Prime. Put in your wet wads.”
“She’s altered course,” said Bush. “The range can’t have changed much.”
“No, sir. Load and run up! Excuse me, sir.”