Hinman’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“The man is flawed,” Captain Mealey said. “There is a dry rot within him. It will spread inside him and it will spread to others. I assume you heard what the electricians did to him?”
Hinman nodded. Bob Rudd had told him the story on the way to Captain Mealey’s quarters, howling with laughter as he told it.
“From what I have heard the electricians had provocation, sir,” Hinman said, choosing his words carefully.
“Provocation, imagined or real, should be dealt with through the proper channels,” Mealey said. “What happened in this case was that a man or men, enlisted man or men, made what amounted to a physical attack on the person of a U.S. Naval officer. That, sir, as you know full well is a major offense! If there had been sufficient evidence to present at a General Courts-Martial I would have requested such a courts-martial!”
“I trust Mr. Simms has learned his lesson, sir?”
“That’s not the point,” Captain Mealey said. His mouth under the white mustache was grim. “After the incident Simms just avoided going aft of the engine rooms. Of itself that was stupid. He was afraid to go farther aft! I recommend you transfer him!”
“I appreciate your advice, sir,” Hinman said. His mouth was set as grimly as Mealey’s. “I’d like to think about it, talk with Simms, talk with Dusty Rhodes and Chief Hendershot.”
“There’s the problem with Mrs. Simms,” Agnes Mealey said.
“Problem?” Hinman said.
“Before you returned from your last patrol, before Arvin took over the Mako, it was common knowledge among the 0-wives that Mary Simms had, shall I say, a boarder? A civilian engineer who had been sent out here to figure out how to right the Oklahoma and the other sunken battleships. I am told she was very careful. She sent her small daughter to stay with Gloria Brannon while she entertained, I hope that’s the right word, words and their meanings change so much these days, while she entertained her boarder.”
“Simms found out about it,” Mealey said. “He asked me for permission to stay aboard Mako during the refit, that was on the day you left for the states. I refused and he went to the BOQ.”
“And now?” Hinman asked.
“Mary Simms and her daughter left for the States before Mako returned from this patrol,” Agnes Mealey said. “There had been a lot of talk that the civilian was married with four children. That was wrong, he’s a widower with two children, teenagers. I have heard that Mary Simms is filing for divorce and will marry the civilian as soon as the divorce is final.”
“I didn’t know that!” Bob Rudd said, his eyes opening wide in his beefy red face.
“You have to go to the weekly tea parties at the O-Club, the cat-fights as Arvin calls them, to find out what’s going on,” Agnes Mealey said, smiling,
“Maybe that will solve his problem,” Rudd said.
“I don’t think so,” Captain Mealey said. He frowned. “It could destroy what little self-confidence the man has in himself. It isn’t the most comforting thing to know some civilian has crept into your bed while you’re at sea and your wife prefers the civilian!”
“Oh, Arvin!” Mrs. Mealey said. “From what I’ve heard about Peter Simms I don’t think he’s without blame.” Then, with the finely honed sense of a senior Naval officer’s wife, she deftly steered the conversation into safer channels. The evening ended pleasantly and as Mealey walked Rudd and Hinman to their car he put his hand on Hinman’s arm.
“I read your patrol report very carefully. I followed your lead on the exploders; I helped Chief Rhodes and Ginty modify them. What an incredible animal that man Ginty is! I also allowed for a deeper run on the torpedoes than the depth settings would show. You’ll find all that information in a sealed envelope in your quarters, sir.” He touched his white mustache.
“We’re going to find out how much deeper the fish run,” Rudd said. “I wanted to use Mako for those tests but Mealey has smashed the old bucket up so badly that we can’t do that as soon as I want it done. Plunger is due in, in a few days. We’ll use her for the test firings.”
Driving back to the BOQ where Hinman was quartered, Bob Rudd turned to Hinman.
“I’m afraid that this time you’re in Pearl it’s going to be hello and goodbye, Art. Mako will report in the SouWestPac command at the end of your next run. General MacArthur wants to get his island-hopping campaign in high gear and he’s made a strong case for more submarines to operate out of Australia.”
“I hate to leave your command, Bob,” Hinman said.
“I don’t like to lose you. But we’re going to have to do a lot of talking about certain things. I’ll give you the broad picture right now; don’t modify any exploders unless you put them back the way they were before you bring any fish in to Australia. The command down there is run by old Gun Club boys and they think that exploder is holy! They’ll have your ass in ribbons if they find out you’ve touched the exploders! If it were me, and it isn’t, I know, I’d modify the damned exploders and if I had to bring any fish back I’d change them back and not say one word!”
“That would defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?” Hinman said. “If I modify the exploders and get results and bring back fish with the exploders back as they were and say nothing, then those people down there will have a stronger case than ever for not even touching those exploders. Does that make sense to you?”
“No,” Rudd said, “but it protects your ass, friend. We’re doing our best here to put pressure on them. If Nimitz wasn’t so busy, he’s on our side I think, if he wasn’t so busy we could end this damned argument in a month. Just be patient.
“Another thing; when you tie up at Brisbane or Freemantle, whichever, you’ll be tying up in a political hornet’s nest. Don’t, for Christ’s sake, get caught up in that meat grinder or you’ll wind up as two pounds of hamburger! Keep your patrol reports as lean as you can write them, say nothing or less than that to the Command ashore and try to keep your people from talking. Now one other thing that I want to tell you.
“If you have anything to say to me, for my ears only, you put it in a sealed envelope and hand it over to a dude on the Staff down there, Lieut. Comdr. Gene Puser. He’s my man, my eyes and ears down there. He’s absolutely trustworthy. What I learn from him I tell to Nimitz, so bear that in mind.” He stopped the car at the BOQ building.
“Keep all of this to yourself, Art. You’ll be around for a while yet, gonna take some time to get Mako ready for the sea. We’ll talk about this a lot more. When Plunger comes in I’d like to have you aboard as an observer when we fire some test fish through a net. I think we can end this crap about the fish not running deeper than they’re set for right away if we have some proof.”
Hinman yawned and looked up at the stars. They looked close enough to touch. He walked forward to the bridge where Joe Sirocco was being relieved of his watch.
“Will you send me a cup of hot coffee when you go below, Joe?” Hinman asked. “But no doughnuts or sweet rolls.”
“If it’s all right with you I’ll bring a cup back topside and drink it with you,” Sirocco said. “I’ve got to take morning stars in an hour or so.”
“Fine,” Hinman said. He grinned at Nate Cohen, who had taken over the bridge watch.
“How you doing, Ears?” he asked, using the nickname the crew had given to the Communications Officer.
“Fine Captain, just fine. It’s like old times with you back. I realized that when I found the rubber spider in my bunk!”