Chapter 4 Summary

Aubrey's squadron leaves Mahon, with Pomone being full of disgruntled sailors and a green Captain and second lieutenant. After watching the initial poor seamanship of the Pomone, Aubrey begins to doubt that Pomone will be of help in a battle, though her heavy guns would be much needed. The rest of the ships, particularly the Surprise, sail under an aura of gloom due to the loss of the narwhal horn and its supposed attendant luck. The bad luck of the broken horn is compounded when it is discovered that someone has substituted water for the preserving spirits in which the hand of glory soaks. When this is discovered, Maturin pins the hand to a board in order to dry it out, but Naseby, the Marine commander's dog eats the hand. Maturin tells Hobden that Maturin must either perform surgery or give the dog something to make it...