Chapters 10, 11, and 12 Summary

Atropos sails to Malta and takes aboard various supplies including a variety of strange requests from McCullum. Hornblower receives an invitation to dine with the Governor and Hornblower summons Prince. Eisenbeiss demands to accompany the Prince; Hornblower had originally been intending this but Eisenbeiss' imprudent demeanor puts Hornblower off and he refuses to tolerate his company. The dinner goes off without a hitch, but upon his return to Atropos, Hornblower learns that the petulant Eisenbeiss has fought a duel with the domineering McCullum, and McCullum has been shot through the chest. Hornblower goes ashore to the hospital and finds McCullum alive. The attending physician states that McCullum's chances ashore or aboard are rather the same and predicts that after several days McCullum will die from infection. Furious, Hornblower returns to the ship and verbally attacks Eisenbeiss. After threatening Eisenbeiss with flogging...