Hornblower's first orders are to escort an East Indian convoy off the Spanish coast. He masterfully defends them from simultaneous attack by two faster, more manoeuvrable privateers. Since he has been forced to sail with an under-strength crew, and had to make do with "lubbers, sheepstealers, and bigamists", he breaks admiralty regulations and impresses twenty men from each vessel in the convoy just before they part ways. With his ship fully manned, Hornblower wreaks havoc on the French-controlled Spanish coast. He captures a French brig by surprise, storms a French fort, takes two more vessels as prizes, repeatedly fires upon several thousand French soldiers marching along a coastal road, and saves his Admiral's ship from certain ruin by towing it away from a French battery during a severe storm.
When he encounters a squadron of four French ships of the line that have broken through the English blockade of Toulon, he attacks them against overwhelming odds, and manages to disable or heavily damage all of them. However, with many of his men killed or wounded and his ship dismasted, he is forced to strike his colours and surrender.
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