Captain Pett paused for a moment, following the twisting path of Tradescant’s logic, and then let out a crack of laughter and hammered Tradescant on the shoulder. ‘You are trapped,’ he exclaimed. ‘Because every variety that you discover must make you doubt that God could do all this in six days in Eden. And yet what you say you want to do is to show these things to the glory of God.’

Tradescant recoiled slightly from the loud good humour of his captain. ‘Yes.’

The captain laughed again. ‘I thank God I am a simple man,’ he said. ‘All I have to do is to sack Algiers and teach the Barbary pirates that they cannot hazard the lives of English sailors. Whereas you, Tradescant, have to spend your life hoping for one thing but continually finding evidence to the contrary.’

A familiar stubborn look came across John’s face. ‘I keep faith,’ he said stolidly. ‘Whether to my lord or to my king or to my God. I keep faith. And four sorts of smilax do not challenge my faith in God or king or lord.’

Pett was optimistic about the ease of his task, compared with John’s metaphysical worries. He was part of a well-victualled well-commanded fleet with a clear plan. When they came to Algiers it was the task of the pinnaces to patrol the waterways to trap the pirates inside the harbour.

John and the other gentlemen recruited for the adventure were called into the captain’s cabin on the day the whole of the English fleet was assembled and moored in readiness half a league off shore.

‘We’ll send in fire boats,’ Pett said. ‘Two. They are to set the moored shipping ablaze and that will destroy the corsairs’ fleet. It’ll also spread smoke across the harbour and under cover of the smoke we’ll assault the walls of the harbour. That will be our task and that will be where you come in, gentlemen.’

He had a map unrolled before him on the table. The English fleet was shown as a double line of converging white flags with the distinctive red cross. The corsair ships were shown as a black square.

‘Which way is the prevailing wind?’ Tradescant asked.

‘Onshore,’ Pett replied. ‘It will blow the fire boats in, and then the smoke will go into their eyes.’

‘Do we have scaling ladders for the harbour walls?’ someone asked.

The officers nodded, Tradescant among them.

‘And you each of you know the men you are to lead and have checked their equipment?’ Captain Pett confirmed.

Tradescant nodded and glanced around him, wondering if anyone else had a sense of sick dread in their stomachs, the fear of a man who had never seen a battle before.

‘Then do your duty, gentlemen,’ the captain said simply. ‘For God and King James.’