'Pull! Oh, pull!' said Foster, in agony. There can be no mental torture like that of a captain whose ship is in peril and he not on board.
'There's one of them,' said Harvey.
Just ahead, a small brig was bearing down on them under topsails; they could see the glow of the fire, and as they watched the fire suddenly burst into roaring fury, wrapping the whole vessel in flames in a moment, like a set piece in a fireworks display. Flames spouted out of the holes in her sides and roared up through her hatchways. The very water around her glowed vivid red. They saw her halt in her career and begin to swing slowly around.
'She's across Santa Barbara 's cable,' said Foster.
'She's nearly clear,' added Hammond. 'God help 'em on board there. She'll be alongside her in a minute.'
Hornblower thought of two thousand Spanish and French prisoners battened down below decks in the hulk.
'With a man at her wheel she could be steered clear,' said Foster. 'We ought to do it!'
Then things happened rapidly. Harvey put the tiller over. 'Pull away!' he roared at the boatmen.
The latter displayed an easily understood reluctance to row up to that fiery hull.
'Pull!' said Harvey.