Chapters 4 and 5 Summary

Porta Coeli is caught in a gale and heaves-to. For several hours she pitches as the gale gradually moderates. Throughout this period Hornblower is seasick and irritable, and remains pensive. He considers the various problems associated with Flame and finds no obvious solution to the problem. Brown, Hornblower's coxswain and personal servant, tends to his seasick master with aplomb and exactly the right blend of conscientious care and deferential casualness. Hornblower envies Brown's easy ability with any physical task, be it driving horses, carving wood, heaving lead, reefing sail, or waiting tables. In truth, Brown is one of Hornblower's few intimate acquaintances even though Hornblower does not appear to fully accept the fact.

Eventually the gale moderates and the ship begins to regain distance lost while hove-to. Hornblower spends more time on the deck and realizes that the men of the...