Hornblower and the Temeraire

Chapter 2

April 15th, 1819

        We have been at sea for about 4 weeks now and we are making good time. We are heading towards the Cape of Good Hope to resupply. All the men except for the newly pressed men will be allowed some shore leave as the majority of the crew is made up of veterans. The remainder of the crew will remain on board, cleaning the ship while the others have shore leave for a week. The remainder of the crew, being newly pressed, cannot be trusted not to try to escape and I would rather not have a flogging this early on in the voyage. I can-

Hornblower was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Who is it?" he called. The door opened and Hornblower could see that it was one of the new members of the crew. This particular fellow's name was Micajah Williams, known to the others as "Cage". he was strong, muscular, and tall. He was one of the ship's lieutenants. "Well? What is it?" Hornblower asked. "The Cape's been sighted Sir." he said with a slight accent. "Alright then." Hornblower acknowledged. Hornblower sat up and followed Cage up to the quarterdeck. 

        When Hornblower reached the quarterdeck, he looked towards the port side of the side of the ship. He could see the outline of the coast. He called up to the helmsman to steer towards the tip of the Cape of Good Hope. It was reaching midday so he decided to order the midday meal. He called Cage and asked him to tell the cook to serve the meal. Hornblower was about to order his meal delivered to his room, but decided against it. He knew that the crew had heard his reputation as an honest and trustworthy Captain and decided that he may as well take the opportunity to earn their trust and loyalty. One of his personal mottos was that a man was defined by his actions, so he decided to follow his own advice. He quickly called to Cage and asked him in a loud, clear voice to give him the same meal as the rest of the crew.