Hornblower gets up from the
ship’s bow and joins Bracegirdle and the rest of the men in the “celebratory
tot of rum”. The atmosphere at the celebration is pleasant, although there is
tension between Foster and Captain Hammond, as they are determined to fight
their duel the following morning. Pellew is bemused when he hears about the
duel; to him it’s typical of Foster’s arrogance and stubbornness. But he
stifles his opinion and acknowledges both Hornblower’s and Foster’s bravery in
saving the Indefatigable from the fire ship.
By the end of the evening,
when the men are laden with rum, Hammond attempts to reconcile with Foster. He
offers a handshake and says “My congratulations, Captain, on you fine feat of
heroism.”
Foster says nothing and does
not return the handshake.
Hammond looks uncomfortable,
withdraws the proffered handshake, and pleads “will you not reconcile with me
man?”
Foster squawks, “I will not!
We shall fight our duel tomorrow, where we will discover who the weaker man is!
Sir!”
Hammond is offended by
Foster’s lack of goodwill, and in a raised voice says “Very well! I shall see
you tomorrow morning at nine o’clock sharp on the shore of Old Dickson’s Bay!”
And meet on the shore of Old
Dickson’s Bay the next morning they do. The only trouble is, both drank heavily
the night before and are suffering a hangover. Foster blinks several times to
keep his eyes open. There are scores of men witnessing the event. Dr
Hepplewhite is the adjudicator. Hornblower, Pellew and Bracegirdle are watching
from a cliff.
“Who do you think will win,
sir?” asks Hornblower.
Bracegirdle, with some
wisdom, replies “It doesn’t matter who wins, Horatio. I fear both men have made
fools of themselves already. The one who wins will live with the death of the
other.”
Dr Hepplewhite goes through
the formalities, and Hammond and Foster stagger out the paces. They turn and
face each other.
“One!….Two!….Three!….Four!…Five!….Fire!!”
Foster fires first but in his
drunken state he completely misses the mark. In fact, what he shoots is nothing
but Dr Hepplewhite himself.
There is a stunned, heavy
silence as it dawns on everyone what has just happened. Dr Hepplewhite grimaces
in pain and clutches his wound. Hornblower scrambles down the cliff to be by Dr
Hepplewhite’s side. Foster, though feeling half drunk, is fully aware of what
he has just done and turns pale with horror. He looks at his pistol and lets it
slip from his hand to the ground.
Dr Hepplewhite is shuddering
in Hornblower’s arms. His dying words are: “Ironic, isn’t it, Horatio, that
they shoot at the one who is supposed to save the lives of others?
Yet….I…..cannot….save…..myself” and he dies.
Foster is standing there
shocked. Hammond observes Foster’s countenance and goes over to him to again
proffer a handshake of friendship and forgiveness. And this time Foster doesn’t
just shake his hand, but embraces him and hugs him like a brother.
*****