“Didn’t hurt the bloke I knocked about,” the Major said apologetically. “Never do to hurt the Allies, would it? Gave him a bit of a sock with sand in it, was all.”
“If the operation is a success,” Puser said slowly, “the Staff thinks it could be repeated at intervals, odd intervals of time so as to keep the Jap off balance. The net effect is likely to be that the Jap will have to strengthen his garrisons in harbors all through the territory they occupy and to assign more destroyers escort to those harbors, leaving the sea lanes a little freer of Jap ships for submarines.”
“And if it is known that the Japanese have assigned additional troops to known areas that would make it easier for General MacArthur when he begins his promised return to the Philippines. Isn’t that so?” Hinman was staring at Puser.
“Sir, I ventured no such opinion but I am happy to say that you have a decisive mind, sir,” Puser’s voice was patient.
Hinman sat and thought for a long moment. Then he looked straight at Puser.
“I don’t have any choice, do I!”
“I’m afraid not, sir,” Puser said. “But from what Captain Rudd has told me about you I think you can pull it off. The Major shares my opinion. I’ve shown him what Captain Rudd wrote to me about you, sir.”
“As I said,” the Major said, “I don’t like the bloody show!” He squeezed his eyelids closed and when he opened them the bright blue eyes were snapping at Hinman.
“Mind you, Captain, done a lot of bloody chores in my time, I have. This one could come off smooth as taking off a sheila’s panties in the dark! All it needs is a man with cold steel in his guts on the ship at sea and a good man to go with me, your best man!”
“ ‘Sheila’?” Sirocco said.
“That’s Aussie slang for girl,” Puser said.
“Why two men?” Captain Hinman said.
“Because you can’t maneuver the kayak to place a mine down just below the water, takes one man to lean the other way to sort of counterbalance the little boat, the Major explained. “Bloody mines weigh ten pounds with their magnet to grip the hull. Got two dozen of them with me but I don’t think the little boat will carry more than a dozen. That’s why we want to do a day or so of practice here, try it in daylight and then at night. With some luck we shouldn’t be in the harbor more than an hour or two, and then we’ll come out.”
“Very well,” Hinman said slowly. “Let’s have some coffee and take this thing apart, step by step.” He looked at Puser.
“Is this special mission the whole patrol?”
“No,” Puser said slowly. “Once this thing is over you’ll have one hell of a patrol area. You’ll probably scare Major Struthers half to death!”
Hinman looked at the Australian Major, whose bright blue eyes were merry beneath sun-bleached eyebrows.
“Somehow I doubt that Major Struthers will be scared of anything we do on a submarine,” Hinman said.
Chapter 25
The Mako crept cautiously down a channel at the southern end of the fiddle-shaped island of Bougainville. Captain Hinman was on the cigaret deck aft of the bridge. Major Struthers stood beside him, his short legs braced against the slow roll of the ship. Hinman lowered his night binoculars and let them hang from the neck strap.
“Can’t see a whole lot out there with no moon. The land looks to be low, very little elevation. Probably swampy.”
“If so, full of the little buggers that give you the malaria,” Struthers said cheerfully. The port lookout cleared his throat and the people in the bridge tensed.
“Light bearing dead abeam to port, Bridge. On that little island over there. The light flickers like it might be a small fire.”
Hinman raised his binoculars. “Mr. Grilley,” he called to the OOD. “Ask the navigator for that island’s name.”
Joe Sirocco, working at his charts on the gyro table in the Control Room, heard the request and shook his head in frustration. There were no proper navigation charts for the part of the Solomon Islands where they were. He picked up a magnifying glass that Gene Puser had been thoughtful enough to bring with the page from an atlas that showed the island of Bougainville and studied the atlas page.
“Ask the Bridge for permission for me to come topside, please,” he said to the Chief on watch in the Control Room.
“Permission granted,” the OOD said into the bridge microphone and Sirocco climbed up to the bridge.
“There’s no name for that island, Captain,” Sirocco said. “All it shows on this atlas page is that it’s there.” He pointed out to the starboard side of the ship.
“When the end of this point of land hears one four zero degrees, sir, we can come right to course three one six degrees. That will put us on a course across the mouth of Tonolei Harbor. As far as I can guess we’ll have about three miles from where we turn to the center of the harbor mouth or too either side. I’d like to take fathometer readings to find that out, to find out how fast it shoals.”
“Very well,” Hinman said. Sirocco went back below and Hinman moved back to his station on the cigaret deck.
“Bit chancy, is it?” Major Struthers said. “No bloody charts. Bloody Limeys took over this part of the world after World War One. They should have made some charts.”
“It wasn’t important to them commercially,” Hinman said. “Australia took this area over right after that; why didn’t your people make charts? You can’t blame the British for everything, you know.”
“Why not?” Struthers said. “Bloody Pommey bastards!”
The Mako swung to starboard as Grilley ordered the course change Sirocco had suggested and Captain Hinman turned to Struthers.
“Now we find out if the Japs have got night patrols out across the harbor mouth.” He turned toward the bridge.
“Mr. Grilley, order the machine gunners to the bridge with weapons. Deck gun crews to stand by in the Control Room. All lookouts to keep a very sharp lookout. If we’re detected in here I’m going to run for it on the surface.”
Grilley’s repeat of Captain Hinman’s orders was followed by Joe Sirocco’s laconic voice over the bridge speaker.
“Your course out of here will be three zero one Captain.”
“Very well,” Hinman said. “Make turns for one-third ahead, Bridge.” He turned to Struthers.
“That bloody big man as you called him, Joe Sirocco, doesn’t miss a thing. He had the escape course ready. He’s a hell of a lot better Executive Officer than I ever was.”
“Would have liked to have him with me on this little walkabout,” Struthers said. “Not that I object to Chief Rhodes. He’s a rare man, too.”
Hinman nodded. He had suggested to Sirocco that he might like to go with the Major but Sirocco had looked at him with his steady eyes and shook his head. When Hinman had tried to explore the subject further Sirocco had stopped him, saying that if he insisted he’d be advised to check with Washington first. Then he turned away.
The Mako crept across the mouth of the harbor, wallowing in the ground swells. The harbor was quiet, wrapped in the stillness of night.
“Advise reversal of course, Bridge,” Sirocco’s voice came over the Bridge speaker. “Advise the Captain that the fathometer shows steady shoaling. We’re past the center of the harbor and the ship channel is on the south side of the harbor entrance.”
“Very well,” Captain Hinman said. “Mr. Grilley, come left and make one more pass across the harbor mouth.” He turned to Major Struthers.