‘Definitely not, sir,’ Peters broke in. The sub-lieutenant didn’t like the way Hamilton was treating Firefly’s executive officer but, instinctively, he sensed a firm decisiveness in the submariner’s attitude which sharply contrasted with Forsyth’s docile acceptance of the situation. Hamilton was clearly a man who did not believe in dancing to other people’s tunes. ‘The Japanese only occupy the coast around the major parts,’ he explained. ‘The rest of the shoreline is still in the hands of the Chinese. If the Japs tried to land, the local guerillas would wipe them out inside an hour.’
Hamilton turned his attention to the young RNVR officer. ‘Are they likely to give us a hand if we need it?’
‘I doubt it, sir. This part of the coast is controlled by Tien Shan◦– the local warlord. He might help if he was offered enough money, but it’s unwise to trust a Chinaman.’
‘But I thought we were on the same side,’ Hamilton objected.
‘In theory, perhaps,’ Peters agreed. ‘But you’re thinking in terms of the Nationalist Government in Chungking. The trouble is that China is hardly a single united country as we understand the word. They’re all fighting the Japs right enough, but most of them are busy fighting each other as well. Up in the north there’s the Communists under Mao Tse Tung. At the moment he’s supposed to be supporting the Government, but once they’ve settled with the Japanese he won’t rest until he has control of the entire country. He and Chiang-kai-Shek are the big boys. But all the way down the line there are minor warlords fighting to maintain their local power, bandits and pirates who are only interested in loot, and the guerillas◦– usually Communists who have been infiltrated into Nationalist areas.’
‘You make it all sound very jolly,’ Hamilton smiled. ‘Where the hell do we fit into this tangle?’
‘If you want my honest opinion, sir, we don’t. No one wants the British in Asia any longer◦– or the Americans, or the French, or the Dutch. That’s why the Japanese are bound to succeed in the long run. And by continually talking about the overthrow of colonialism, they’ve got a substantial part of the native population behind them. Unfortunately, the poor devils don’t realize that Tokyo’s brand of imperialism will be even worse than ours.’ Peters paused for a moment. He didn’t mind giving Hamilton a lecture on the political situation in the Far East, in fact he rather enjoyed it, but there were other much more urgent dangers.
‘Whatever you decide to do, sir, I suggest you do it quickly. We’re going to be hit by a typhoon within the next two hours.’
An oppressive stillness hung over the mirror-smooth water inside the bay. Nothing stirred and even the shrill chatter of the birds was silent. Hamilton stared up at the molten copper sky and watched the black storm clouds gathering on the horizon.
‘The Sub’s exaggerating,’ Forsyth said easily. ‘We’re in for a blow◦– and a nasty one by the look of it. But this isn’t the typhoon season.’
‘You seem to know a lot about local conditions,’ Hamilton pointed out to the young RNVR officer.
‘I ought to, sir. I’ve lived in Hong Kong for the last fifteen years. Whatever Lieutenant Forsyth may say, I’m certain there’s a typhoon on the way. And I don’t care whether it’s the season or not.’
Hamilton stared down at his feet thoughtfully. For some reason the old proverb about an ill-wind kept running through his brain. A typhoon would certainly complicate the situation◦– yet it might just provide the key he needed to obtain Ottershaw’s release.
‘Bring your motor sampan alongside,’ he told Forsyth. ‘Give me a couple of minutes while I go back to Rapier and give my instructions. Then I’ll take the sampan across to the destroyer and find out what’s happening.’ He glanced over the side. ‘What’s the depth of water here?’ he asked unexpectedly.
‘Ten fathoms according to the echo sounder,’ Forsyth told him. ‘But it’s shifting ground and I doubt if the anchors will hold.’
‘Well, that’s your problem,’ Hamilton said unsympathetically. ‘But if I were you, I’d try to get her out to sea before the typhoon breaks. She’ll be smashed to pieces if you stay inside the bay.’
Forsyth ignored the advice. He objected to Hamilton telling him how to handle his ship. And he resented the way in which the submarine commander was taking over and running the show. He vented his irritation on the chief petty officer, waiting respectfully for orders at the rear of the bridge.
‘Well don’t just stand there, Bosun! Clear away the sampan and bring it alongside. Lieutenant Hamilton will tell you what he wants you to do when he returns. I’ll be in my cabin if I’m wanted.’
No one’s likely to want you, mate, Phillips grumbled to himself as he saluted and made his way for’ard. There was little love lost between them and he had derived considerable satisfaction from the way Hamilton had trampled over the gunboat’s executive officer. And serve the bugger right.
‘Sampan alongside port quarter, sir,’ Firefly’s bosun reported smartly as Hamilton came back on board. ‘Ready when you are.’
‘Thank you, Chief.’ He turned to Forsyth who had emerged from his cabin to supervise the sampan’s departure. ‘Have you sent a signal to say I’m coming?’
‘No.’
‘Good◦– let’s keep the buggers guessing. I don’t see why they should have a monopoly on initiative.’ He stepped down into the motor sampan. ‘There’s no need for you chaps to hang around once you’ve dropped me off,’ he told the bosun. ‘The Japs will be far more impressed if I go aboard and send you back. They have an odd way of looking at things. If they think I’ve deliberately got rid of my only means of escape they’ll be much more likely to listen to what I have to say.’
‘And how to you intend to get back?’ Forsyth asked tartly. ‘I suppose you’re also an expert at walking on water!’
‘There’ll be no need for miracles,’ Hamilton said easily. ‘I’ll arrange for the Jap skipper to bring Ottershaw and myself off in one of the destroyer’s own boats. I’m a great believer in kicking a man when he’s down.’
Forsyth hated Hamilton for his supreme self-confidence. He could not help wondering what made the submarine commander so certain he could succeed in obtaining Ottershaw’s release.
He would have been surprised to discover that Hamilton was asking himself exactly the same question as he settled into the sternsheets of the sampan. In point of fact, Rapier’s skipper hadn’t the remotest idea what he was going to do when he arrived on board the destroyer. But he did not believe in worrying about things until they happened.
Having been commissioned from the lower deck, he had never set foot inside the sacred portals of the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth but he had often heard of the motto painted up over one of the doors: ‘There is nothing the Navy cannot do.’ Well, he decided, let’s put the boast to the test and see if it works….
FIVE
‘Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Hamilton.’
Rapier’s captain looked up sharply as he recognized the voice and was surprised to see Aritsu leaning over the rails of the upper deck waiting to receive him. He might have guessed the dapper Little Commander was mixed up in the affair◦– he seemed to make a specialty of finding new ways to humiliate the Royal Navy. Perhaps that was the only way to obtain promotion in the Japanese Fleet. Firefly’s motor sampan nudged her bows gently against the lower platform of the gangway, and the lieutenant jumped across the narrow strip of water separating the two vessels with the confident aplomb of long experience.