On the 21st, Brown held a consultation of his officers, and proposed to land three hundred men, at night, a mile from the town, so as to surprise it at daylight.  The officers protested against the scheme; they justly remarked that it would be folly to make such an attack before the arrival of the whole force.  The Phram and the Chandos, with the platoons of Europeans, were still to come.  They represented that the garrison of the fort alone was a thousand strong, to say nothing of the small walled town which must be taken before the fort could be attacked.  Such a proposal was not likely to increase their confidence in Brown.  Sickness had already set in among the troops, and that evening Captain Jeremiah Easthope died of fever.  Brown was all for immediate action, without having any definite plan.

On the 22nd, Gordon was ordered to land with fifty men, and occupy a small building on the top of a hill on the north side of the river.  What he was expected to do there does not appear.  Soon, a number of boats full of men were observed crossing from the fort to engage Gordon, so a reinforcement of fifty men was sent to him.  On reaching the hill, Gordon found that what had been taken for a building consisted only of a natural pile of loose stones, such as are to be frequently seen on the Deccan hills, and there was nothing for it but to re-embark.  He managed his retreat to the landing-place in good order, followed by the enemy at musket-shot distance.  Several times he faced about, but the enemy always shrank from close quarters.  Nothing had been done to cover the place of embarkation, and it was only after the strongest remonstrances from those on board that Brown was prevailed on to order the Revenge and the Hunter to stand in and cover the re-embarkation of Gordon’s party.  In spite of this precaution, a lieutenant, a sergeant, a quartermaster of the London and six men were killed, and about twenty men wounded.  It is difficult to imagine anything feebler and more aimless than the whole proceeding.

The next day the bombketch was again sent in to bombard the fort, with the same result as before.  The proceedings were enlivened by the punishment of Sergeant Passmore, who was reported by Gordon for cowardly behaviour.  He was sent round the fleet to receive ten lashes alongside each ship.  The next three days were spent in idleness, awaiting the Phram, from which so much was expected.  On board ship there was no discipline, but plenty of hard drinking.  In order to make the men fight well, Brown’s idea was to supply them with unlimited rum:  the officers kept pace with the men in their libations, and what little discipline existed soon disappeared.  Orders were disobeyed, while drunkenness, violence, and insubordination reigned unchecked.  When remonstrances were addressed to Brown, he refused to stop the supply of liquor, saying that the people must not be put out of humour at this juncture, and they must drink as they pleased:  all which is duly recorded by Captain Upton of the London.  The enemy meanwhile was observed busily constructing new batteries, and boats full of armed men were constantly crossing the river, but nothing was done to intercept them.