Chapters 9 and 10 Summary

Weeks pass and Bush wholly recovers. Brown manufactures various peg legs for Bush, and numerous alterations are made as Bush learns to walk on the artificial limb. Every few days local law enforcement makes various wide-area sweeps; as the weeks progress these searches happen with decreasing frequency. Finally, the newspapers announce that Hornblower and his companions have drowned during an escape attempt, and the searches are discontinued. The Count warns that the French government will never admit to a mistake; thus, if Hornblower is recaptured after the announcement he should expect to be shot immediately. As the days go by Hornblower worries about Maria, his wife; the child has surely come, and he envisions Maria as a putative widow in mourning. He also envisions Barbara mourning his death; at least, he hopes she does. As the days go by Hornblower's French...