Chapters 19, 20, and 21 Summary

Hornblower determines the French are very likely to attempt an amphibious maneuver to gain the flank of the Russian defenders. He therefore sets the two sloops on constant nighttime alert and patrol. After only a few days, Raven signals that a French force is indeed on the water. The sloops' boats are launched and various hot skirmishes are conducted. In fact, Cole of the Raven has rather botched the job by signaling at the first sign of the French. Hornblower had hoped to capture or kill some thousands of enemy but instead the venture only takes a few hundred. Nevertheless, the crossing is prevented. One of the prisoners is Lieutenant von Bülow, a Prussian. Hornblower internally agonizes over Cole's botched performance but does not publicly comment on it.

Over the next days, Hornblower sits in the chapel tower with Clausewitz...