ed the condition of
his flagship as hopeless, but his captain, Brenton, begged permission
to at least attempt to refit her. He summoned his crew aft, and told
the men the admiral proposed to leave the ship behind, and asked them
"what they thought about it." The men gave a wrathful roar,
punctuated, it is to be feared, with many sea-going expletives, and
shouted, "All hands to work day and night till she's ready!" The whole
crew, down to the very powder-boys, actually worked while daylight
lasted, kept it up, watch and watch, through the night, and did this
from the evening of the 6th to the noon of the 12th! Probably no ship
that ever floated was refitted in shorter time. In that brief period,
to quote the "Naval Register," she "shifted her mainmast; fished and
secured her foremast, shot through in several places; knotted and
spliced the rigging, which had been cut to pieces, and bent new sails;
plugged the shot-holes between wind and water; completed with stores of
all kinds, anchors and cables, powder and shot, and provisions for four
months."

On Sunday, July 12, 1801, the French and Spanish ships in Algeciras Bay
weighed anchor, formed their line of battle as they came out, off
Cabrita Point, and, stately and slow, with the two 112-gun Spaniards as
a rearguard, bore up for Cadiz. An hour later the British ships warped
out of the mole in pursuit. It was an amazing sight: a squadron of
five sail of the line, which had been completely disabled in an action
only five days before, was starting, fresh and refitted, in pursuit of
a fleet double its own number, and more than double its strength! All
Gibraltar crowded to watch the ships as, one by one, they cleared the
pier-head. The garrison band blew itself hoarse playing "Britons,
strike home," while the _Caesar's_ band answered in strains as shrill
with "Come, cheer up, my lads, 'tis for glory we steer." Both tunes,
it may be added, were simply submerged beneath the cheers which rang up
from mole-head and batteries and dock-walls. Just as the _Caesar_
drifted, huge and stately, past the pier-head, a boat came eagerly
pulling up to her. It was crowded with jack-tars, with bandaged heads
and swathed arms. A cluster of the _Pompee's_ wounded, who escaped
from the hospital, bribed a boatman to pull them out to the flagship,
and clamoured to be taken on board!

Saumarez had strengthened his squadron by the addition of the _Superb_,
with the _Thames_ frigate, a