Hornblower and the Atropos
by C. S. Forester
In January 1808, Hornblower, along with his wife and young son, was called upon to act as bargeman on his voyage to London, where he assumed command of Atropos. The flagship captain of Nelson's funeral on the Thames is not Hornblower's idea of exciting action. But soon his orders come and he sails to the Mediterranean. "War, storm, shipwreck, disease — what were the chances that he would never come back?"
