Chapters 13, 14, and 15 Summary

Hornblower, Bush and Brown discard their fishermen disguise and put on the disguise of Dutch customs officials. They then enter Nantes for the high-risk portion of their escape. Their boat is unsuitable for the open sea, and they must beg or steal suitable passage. Hornblower looks about Nantes and sees that the town, once a flourishing port, is slowly dying of strangulation due to the English blockade. Only two mercantile ships of the neutral United States of America are in the harbor. Hornblower reminisces about his many months and years of blockade duty and is intrigued to view their local effect. Hornblower looks around for an ocean-going craft which he can steal. He also notes several chain-gangs of slave labor unloading the merchant ships.

The men put their boat alongside a quay and disembark. They note that nearby is a 10-gun...