by Herman Wouk
Blakely said frostily, “How does defense counsel justify this line of questioning?”
“If the court please, it is the assigned duty of defense counsel to disprove the words in the specification-I quote-without authority, and without justifiable cause. It will be the contention of the defense that the authority of Lieutenant Maryk was Articles 184, 185, and 186 of the Navy Regulations, and that his justifiable cause was the conduct, demeanor, and decisions of Commander Queeg during his command of the Caine. The sobriquet ‘Old Yellowstain’ used by the officers of the Caine, and the facts out of which that sobriquet arose, will be extremely relevant. I quote Article 185: the conclusion to relieve his commanding officer must be one which a reasonable, prudent and experienced officer would regard as necessary from the facts thus determined to exist.”
The president of the court worked his eyebrows while Greenwald spoke. “The court will be cleared,” he said.
In the corridor, Greenwald lounged against the wall and remarked to Maryk, “Captain Blakely doesn’t like Jews. Intonations on the name ‘Greenwald.’ I have absolute pitch for those harmonies.”
“Jesus,” said Maryk miserably.
“It won’t make any difference. You’re not supposed to love Jews necessarily, just to give them a fair shake. I’ve always had a fair shake in the Navy, and I’ll get it from Blakely, too, despite the eyebrows.”
“I don’t think I have a chance at this point,” mourned the exec.
“Queeg’s doing nobly,” said Greenwald. The orderly summoned them back to the courtroom.
“Before ruling, the court wishes to caution defense counsel,” Blakely said, staring very hard at Greenwald. “This is a most unusual and delicate case. The honor and career of an officer with an unblemished military record of fourteen years’ standing, including long combatant duty, is involved. The court recognizes that the defense is compelled to try to challenge the competence of that officer. Nevertheless, all requirements of legal ethics and military respect and subordination remain in force. The defense counsel will have to bear full responsibility for the conduct of his case, including indiscretions and abuses of his cross-examination privileges.” The president halted, and intensified his stare at Greenwald, who stood behind his desk, looking down at his array of pigs. “Subject to the foregoing comment, the judge advocate’s objection is overruled. Court stenographer will repeat the question.”
The little yeoman in whites said tonelessly, “You aren’t aware then that all the officers of the Caine habitually referred to you as Old Yellowstain?”
Queeg’s head was down between his shoulders, and he squinted up at the air in front of him. He suddenly looked much more familiar to Maryk. “I am not aware of it.”
“Commander,” said Greenwald, “how many fitness reports did you write on Lieutenant Maryk, disregarding the one after he relieved you?”
“Two, I believe.”
“One in January, and one in July?”
“That is correct.”
“Do you remember their contents?”
“Well, they weren’t bad fitness reports, as I recall.”
“Did you give him the highest classification-Outstanding-in both of them?”
“Well, that was at the beginning. I may have.”
“Photostats of the reports are available to refresh your memory, Commander.”
“I can say definitely, yes, I was still classifying him as outstanding that early in the game.”
“Isn’t that inconsistent with your statement that from the first he opposed your wishes regarding the Caine?”
“No, there’s no inconsistency, it’s all how you interpret it. I don’t use fitness reports to revenge myself on officers who disagree with me, and Maryk did know his job and-maybe I shouldn’t have said from the first. In fact he started off at first like a house afire but he funked off very fast. That morning-glory type is quite common and I’m not the first captain who was fooled at first.”
“Did you state in your report of 1 July that he was qualified for command?”
“Well, as I say, he started off like a house afire. If you want to know how he ended up why don’t you bring up his last fitness report?”
“You wrote that report, Commander, did you not, after he relieved you on the grounds of mental illness?”
“That made no difference at all,” exclaimed Queeg; with a touch of the old nasal voice. “The fitness report is not an instrument of retaliation or revenge-not in my hands, it isn’t!”
“No further questions at this time.” Greenwald turned to the court. “Commander Queeg will be called as a witness for the defense.” The eyebrows of the president signaled astonishment followed by resignation. Queeg was excused. He walked out of the room hurriedly.
“Call Lieutenant Thomas Keefer,” said Challee. The novelist came marching in, shoulders thrown back, head tilted a little to one side, his eyes looking blankly ahead. After being sworn he sat in the witness chair and crossed his gangling legs. His elbows lay on the arm rests and his fingers were laced across his stomach. His foot danced slightly all the time he testified.
Challee brushed through the opening questions in a monotone, then said, “Now, Lieutenant Keefer, coming to the morning of 18 December-where were you at the time Captain Queeg was relieved?”
“In the charthouse on the bridge.”
“What were you doing?”
“Well, the weather was pretty terrible. Several of us were there, officers and men. We wanted to be on hand in case an emergency arose, but naturally we stayed out of the pilothouse, not wanting to clutter it up.”
“Describe how you learned that the captain had been relieved.”
“Mr. Maryk passed the word for all officers to lay up to the wheelhouse. When we got there he told us that the captain was sick and he had assumed command.”
“Where was Commander Queeg at the time?”
“In the wheelhouse.”
“Did he concur with Maryk’s statement?”
“He did not. He continually protested and warned us that if we complied with Maryk’s orders we’d be guilty of collusion in mutiny.”
“Did Captain Queeg show any external signs of being sick?”
“Well-” Keefer shifted in his seat and for a moment encountered Maryk’s painfully intense glance. Maryk looked away angrily. “Well, I have to say that at the height of typhoon nobody aboard a four-piper looks very well. He was wet, and tired, and very tense-looking-”
“Was he raving, or foaming, or giving any other common indications of insanity?”
“No.”
“Did he speak incoherently or gibberingly when he protested being relieved?”
“No, he spoke clearly.”
“Did he look any worse than, say, Lieutenant Keith?”
“No, sir.”
“Or Maryk?”
“I guess not. We were all tired, dripping, and knocked about.”
“What was your response to Maryk’s announcement?”
“Well, things were happening very fast and in a confused way. Captain Queeg was talking to us when the capsized George Black was sighted. Maryk began to maneuver to pick up survivors and for an hour that was all anyone thought about.”
“Did you make any effort to persuade Maryk to restore Queeg to command?”
“I did not.”
“Were you next senior officer to Maryk?”
“I was.”
“Didn’t you feel the seriousness of the situation?”
“I certainly did, sir.”
“Didn’t you realize that Captain Queeg’s warning about collusion in mutiny was well founded?”
“I did.”
“Why did you take no remedial action?”
“I wasn’t present when the captain was relieved. I didn’t know what he might have done in a critical moment to convince the executive officer that he was sick. And everyone was concentrating on saving first the Black survivors and then our own ship. There was no time for arguing. By the
time the storm subsided the situation had crystallized. Maryk was in full command. The entire ship was obeying his orders. To oppose him at that point might have been a mutinous act on my part. I decided that for the safety of the ship my best course was to obey his orders until such time as higher authority endorsed or overruled his action. That was what I did.”
“Lieutenant Keefer, were you aboard the Caine throughout the period when Captain Queeg was in command?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever observe evidence of insanity in him?”
Keefer hesitated, wetted his lips, and looked toward Maryk, who was gnawing a knuckle and staring out of the window at the sunlit trees. “I don’t-I can’t answer that question intelligently, not being a psychiatrist.”
Challee said sternly, “Mr. Keefer, if you saw a man rolling on the deck and foaming at the mouth, or rushing up and down passageways screaming that a tiger was after him, would you venture to say that that man was temporarily deranged?”
“I would.”
“Did Commander Queeg ever exhibit such behavior?”
“No. Nothing like that.”
“Did you ever think he might be insane?”
“Objection,” said Greenwald, rising. “Witness isn’t an expert. Matters of opinion are not admissible evidence.”
“Question is withdrawn,” said Challee with a slight smile, and Blakely ordered it stricken from the record.
When Greenwald sat, Maryk slid the pad under his eyes, with a crimson scrawl all over the pigs: Why, why, WHY?? Greenwald printed rapidly on a fresh sheet, Implicating Keefer harms you. Two disgruntled bastards instead of one heroic exec. Take an even strain.
“Mr. Keefer,” said the judge advocate, “at any time prior to 18 December were you informed that Maryk suspected Queeg of being mentally ill?”
“Yes.”
“Describe how you learned this fact.”
“At Ulithi, about two weeks before the typhoon, Maryk showed me a medical log he’d kept on Queeg’s behavior. He asked me to come with him to the New Jersey to report the situation to Admiral Halsey.”
“What was your reaction to the medical log?”
“I was dumfounded to learn that Maryk had kept it.”
“Did you consent to go with him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?„
“Well, I was stunned. And I-that is, he was my superior officer and also my close friend. I didn’t consider refusing.”
“Did you believe that the log justified the relief of Queeg?”
“No. When we arrived aboard the New Jersey, I told him as forcibly as I could that in my opinion the log would not justify the action, and that both of us would be liable to a charge of combining to make a mutiny.”
“What was his response?”
“He followed my advice. We returned to the Caine and no further reference was made by either of us to the log or to Queeg’s mental condition.”
“Did you inform the captain of Maryk’s log?”
“I did not.”
“Why not?”
“It would have been disloyal and contrary to the best interests of the ship to stir up my captain against my executive officer. Maryk had evidently abandoned his intention to pursue the matter. I considered the matter closed.”
“Were you surprised, two weeks later, when he relieved the captain?”
“I was flabbergasted.”
“Were you pleased, Mr. Keefer?”
Keefer squirmed in his chair, peered at the fierce face of Blakely, and said, “I’ve said that Maryk was my close friend. I was badly disturbed. I anticipated that at best he would be involved in grave difficulties, and I thought all of us might also be. I thought it was a terrible situation. I was very far from pleased.”
“No further questions.” Challee nodded at Greenwald.
The defense counsel rose. “No questions.” All seven members of the court turned to look at Greenwald. Blakely, his eyebrows at maximum altitude, said, “Does the defense intend to recall the witness at a later time?”
“No, sir.”
“No cross-examination?”
“No, sir.”
“Court stenographer will affirmatively note,” said Blakely, “that the accused did not desire to cross-examine Lieutenant Keefer. The court will question the witness. ... Mr. Keefer, the court desires that you describe any factual occurrences you observed which might have led a prudent and experienced officer to conclude that Captain Queeg might be mentally ill.”
“Sir, as I’ve said, I’m not a psychiatrist.” Keefer was now quite pale.
“Now as to this so-called medical log. You did read this log, Mr. Keefer. Were the facts contained in it known to you?”
“For the most part, yes, sir.”
“But these same facts, which convinced Lieutenant Maryk that he ought to report the captain to Admiral Halsey, did not convince you, is that correct?”
“They did not, sir.”
“Why not?”
Keefer paused, looked up at the clock, and back at Blakely. “Sir, it’s not something a layman can intelligently discuss-”
“You have stated you were a close friend of Mr. Maryk. This court is trying to find out among other things any possible extenuating circumstances in his decision to relieve his captain. Did these facts contained in the log merely indicate to you, as a layman, that Captain Queeg was a highly normal and competent officer?”
There was an edge of irony in the tone. Keefer quickly said, “Speaking from ignorance, sir, my understanding is that mental disability is a relative thing. Captain Queeg was a very strict disciplinarian, and extremely meticulous in hunting down the smallest matters, and quite insistent in having his own way in all things. He was not the easiest person in the world to reason with. It wasn’t my place to question his judgments, but there were several occasions when I thought he bore down too hard and spent excessive time on small matters. Those are the things that were recorded in the medical log. They were very unpleasant. But to jump from them to a conclusion that the captain was a maniac-I was compelled in all honesty to warn Maryk against doing that.”
Blakely beckoned to the judge advocate and whispered with him, then said, “No further questions. Witness excused.” Keefer stepped down, turned, and walked out rapidly. Maryk looked after him with a small dismal smile.
In the afternoon session Challee began by calling Harding and Paynter. They were sullen witnesses. Once Paynter was admonished by the court for evasiveness. Challee pressed out of both of them a corroboration of Keefer’s testimony: the captain had not seemed crazy after being relieved, and they did not know what had prompted the exec’s decision. It became obvious in the questioning that they both disliked Queeg. But one after the other they were driven to admit that they had never observed him commit any acts of madness during his entire time of command.
In cross-examining Harding, Greenwald brought out that Stilwell had been restricted to the ship for half a year for reading on watch, and that the whole crew had been docked five days’ leave in the States because some sailors had appeared at general quarters without life jackets. He drew from Paynter a description of Stilwell’s court-martial.
Challee, in a belligerent re-examination, crowded the engineering officer hard. “Mr. Paynter, did Captain Queeg direct you to find Stilwell guilty?”
“He didn’t order me to, no. The way he explained the law, though, he left no doubt what verdict he wanted.”
“What verdict did you think he wanted?”
“Guilty, and a bad-conduct discharge.”
“What verdict did the court hand down?”
“Guilty and deprived of six liberties.”
“Did Captain Queeg attempt to have you change the sentence?”
“No.”
“Did he give letters of admonition to the court?”
“No.”
“Did he punish you in any way?”
“Well, yes. He said there would be no sleeping after 0800 in the wardr
oom. And he started keeping a black book on errors we made in writing logs.”
“In other words, this cruel punishment consisted of orders to write accurate logs and not to sleep during ship’s working hours, is that correct?”
“Well, at the time we were standing a one-in-three watch, and not to be able to sleep in-”
“Answer the question, please. Was that the extent of your so-called punishment?”
“Yes.”
“No further questions.”
Greenwald rose. “Mr. Paynter, what was the ship doing during that period?”
“Convoy duty in the forward area.”
“Were you at sea much?”
“Practically constantly.”
“Who were the OOD’s?”
“Keefer, Keith, and Handing. I was mostly off the bill because of engine breakdowns.”
“Were they all department heads?”
“Yes.”
“And they were standing OOD watches, four hours on and twelve off, around the clock, week in and week out. How many hours of sleep could they average?”
“Well, see, two nights out of three you lose four hours-either the graveyard or the morning watch. And GQ at dawn-I guess about four or five hours-assuming no night GQ’s.”
“Were there many night GQ’s?”
“Maybe a couple every week.”
“Did Captain de Vriess ever restrict daytime sleeping of OOD’s?”
“No. He used to urge us to grab sleep when we could. He said he didn’t want any foggy zombies conning his ship.”
The judge advocate re-examined briefly. “Mr. Paynter, did any of the OOD’s die of overstrain?”
“No.”
“Did they suffer nervous breakdowns?”
“No.”
“As a result of this terrible persecution of not being allowed to sleep in working hours, were there any mishaps to the ship?”
“No.”
The next witness was Urban. The little signalman’s right hand trembled when he was sworn, and his voice quavered. The judge advocate led him to state that he had been the only person in the wheelhouse beside Queeg, Maryk, Keith, and Stilwell when the captain was relieved.
“What were your duties?”