‘Permission to fall out the men, sir?’
‘Granted, Chief. Tell them to wait in the fore-ends mess space.’
Snark swallowed his anger. There was no mistaking Morgan’s studied insolence. But the post captain had been in the service long enough to know there was nothing he could do about it. Hamilton was Rapier’s captain and, on his own ship, his word was law despite his inferior rank. As soon as the control room was empty, Snark delivered his bombshell.
‘The Japanese have taken Firefly!’
Hamilton accepted the news without any sign of surprise. He thought the Japs had been too quiet recently. But he could not help wondering whether Harry Ottershaw was all right, and he reflected bitterly on the uselessness of the Station’s Standing Orders not to provoke the Japanese. It hadn’t done Ottershaw much good by the sound of it. ‘How did it happen, sir?’ he asked.
‘We’ve been shadowing the Japanese troop convoys passing down the coast,’ Snark explained briefly and, as Hamilton raised his eyebrows, he added: ‘Just because Higher Authority imposes restrictors upon our behavior, does not mean that the Navy is content to take an inactive role in the defense of our Far Eastern dependencies, Lieutenant, although I realize that this is your impression of the Hong Kong Station. We have been keeping Japanese warships under surveillance for several months. And we’ve learned a thing or two.’ He paused for a moment. ‘Firefly was sent out to investigate a large troop convoy coming out from Shanghai. The ships were outside the three-mile limit, so Ottershaw had every right to be there. We don’t know precisely what happened, but Firefly was forced into Hai-An Bay and the Japanese have boxed her in.’
‘For what reason, sir?’
Snark shrugged. ‘We’ve no idea. They haven’t communicated with us yet and it’s all a bit of a mystery. No doubt they’ve got something up their sleeve.’
‘Can’t we send out a destroyer, sir?’ Hamilton suggested.
‘Unfortunately not,’ Snark said shaking his head. ‘For two reasons. Firstly we have no ships. Thanet and Thracian are cruising off Amoy Island on exercises and Scout is in dry-dock for rudder repairs and bottom scraping. And, secondly, even if they were available they would be unable to assist. The Japs have thrown a temporary boom across the entrance to the bay to make sure Firefly can’t escape.’
‘Are we in radio contact with the gunboat?’ Hamilton asked. ‘Surely we could tell Ottershaw to ram the boom and break out. The other gunboats could be sent in to give him support.’
‘It’s not as easy as that,’ Snark told him gloomily. ‘If Firefly tries to escape, Ottershaw will be left behind. Apparently he’s been taken aboard the Japanese destroyer for what they diplomatically called discussions.’ The captain paused for a moment and then looked Hamilton in the eye. ‘That’s where Rapier comes into the picture.’
‘If it means a chance of having a crack at the Japs…’ Hamilton began, but Snark cut him short.
‘I know you have a reputation for disobeying orders, Lieutenant. But this time you will have to be careful. Ottershaw’s life will depend on your handling of what looks to be a very tricky situation.’ Snark picked up a sheet of paper from the chart table and sketched an outline of Hai-An Bay. He marked two crosses inside the bay and drew a straight line across the entrance to represent the boom. His pencil tapped one of the crosses. ‘This is Firefly’s present mooring position. And the destroyer is anchored here. As you can see, the Japanese commander is able to cover both the gunboat and the entrance with his main armament. If he gets any sort of warning, he can sink the gunboat within seconds and still have time to deal with the rescue boat.’
Hamilton forgot his dislike of the captain as he concentrated on the practicalities of the problem. At a time like this, they were all members of the same team and personal feelings could not be allowed to intervene.
‘I take it that Ottershaw is aboard the destroyer?’ he asked quietly.
Snark nodded. ‘As far as we know◦– yes. And that’s the crux of the problem. A consensus of Staff opinion is that a submarine could get under the boom and alongside Firefly without the Japanese being alerted. After that, any further action would be on the initiative of the submarine commander.’
‘You mean I’ll be running the show?’
‘Yes, Lieutenant. You’ll be running the show. But your orders are to take no belligerent action against the destroyer. Providing you can act quickly the Japanese commander will have no time to call up support, and on his own, I reckon a submarine and a gunboat will be sufficient odds to deter him from being foolish. Your task will be to obtain Ottershaw’s release and then bring Firefly safely back to Hong Kong.’
Snark somehow contrived to make it sound easy, but Hamilton noted that he made no effort to tell him how the impossible was to be achieved. But perhaps it was better that way. At least he could not be accused of disobeying orders. He looked down at the sketch map again.
‘What’s the depth of water inside the bay?’ he asked. ‘Ten fathoms◦– although it’s probably only about eight over the bar. Unfortunately we have no accurate charts for this part of the coast.’
‘Do the Japs have Asdic equipment?’
Snark shook his head. ‘Not as far as we know. You’ll only have to contend with hydrophones. And I doubt if they’ll be maintaining a listening watch. I don’t think they’ll be expecting a submarine.’
Hamilton knew it was a gamble. Taking a submarine into an uncharted bay was tantamount to suicide. And what the hell was he going to do even if he succeeded in getting under the boom. But his reputation was at stake, and the challenge to show off in front of the Colony’s top naval brass was too much to resist.
‘Very well, sir. I’ll try it. But I’ll do it my way.’
Snark looked at him coldly. ‘I’m sure you will, Lieutenant. Fortunately for you, this is how it must be. We cannot afford to antagonize the Japanese, even in a situation like this where they are entirely in the wrong. Your mission will be regarded as completely unofficial◦– if anything goes wrong, the authorities will make it clear that you were acting contrary to orders. Your reputation for disobedience, in fact, may prove very useful. And make no mistake about it, Lieutenant. Your head will be handed to the Japanese on a platter if the plan fails.’
And don’t you hope it will, Hamilton thought to himself. He did not, however, demur. This was the way he preferred to do things. At least he could handle the situation as it developed without the constraint of superior orders.
‘I have only one question, sir,’ he said slowly. ‘How much longer are we going to play second fiddle to the Japs?’
Snark allowed himself the luxury of a thin smile. ‘Not much longer. The nucleus of a Far East Fleet is already on its way to Singapore. Two capital ships and a carrier. They should arrive next month. And there are more to follow. Take my word for it◦– Tokyo will be singing a very different tune once they see we mean business. But this is in the future. For the moment the situation remains unaltered. Now, how soon can you sail?’
‘In thirty minutes, sir.’ Hamilton would have liked to stress his combat readiness after Snark’s complaints about Rapier’s efficiency, but he felt the plain statement of fact was proof enough.
Snark appeared to take it as a matter of course. He had no intention of allowing Hamilton to enjoy his moral victory. The taciturn expression on his face did not soften even though he held out his hand.