'When I have decided.'
Then I should like to leave, sir.'
Leitner watched him by the door. 'It is up to you whether you tell Theil about his wife. The ship comes first, you told me so yourself. If Theil is told, what good can it do? He is like the rest of us. A prisoner of duty until released, or killed. As it stands, stupid as he may be, he is a competent enough officer. I will not tolerate interference with my plans because of him, or anyone else, do I make myself clear?'
Perfectly, sir.'
Then you are dismissed.' He bent over the chart again.
I lechler opened the door and groped his way through the darkness, the night air clammy around him.
On the forebridge all was quiet, the men on watch intent on l heir various sectors, although Hechler guessed that Theil's con-I rontation with the doctor would by now' be common knowledge.
I ie thought of the men he commanded. The ones who had trusted him, who had listened to Leitner's passionate speech about the Lilbeck. Her sacrifice, he had termed it. Rau must have been ordered to scuttle his ship by no less than the Fuhrer. Was I here no room left for honour?
I ie knew Theil was waiting for him, could see his dark ou tline against the pale steel.
Theil said in a fierce whisper, 'I have sent him to his quarters, sir.'
Good.' Hechler walked past him. 'I will have a word with him in I lie morning.'
Theil persisted angrily, 'He was raving about the truth all the tune! Why should we be told everything, when security must come first! I did not believe him anyway - we would have been informed if -'
Hechler did not hear the rest.
What would you do with the truth, I wonder? If I told you here and now that your wife had been taken by the Gestapo?
He looked over the screen and allowed the spray to refresh his I ace. She was probably in some terrible prison. She might even be dead. God, it did not bear thinking about.
Theil finished, 'Duty first, I say. The truth can wait.'
Hechler slipped into the chair and touched his arm. 'If you say so, Viktor.'
It was as if Theil had decided for him.
Chapter Twelve
Doubts
Konteradmiral Andreas Leitner appeared to shine as he stood in the entrance of the conning-tower and waited for Hechler to receive him.
All present, sir.' Hechler touched the peak of his cap and noted that Leitner was dressed in white drill, with a freshly laundered cap-cover to set it off.
Inside the conning-tower it was already stiflingly hot despite the fans, and the sunlight which cut through the observation slits seemed to add to the discomfort of the ship's heads of department who were crowded around the chart-table.
Leitner stepped over the coaming and nodded to his subordinates. For the next few moments at least Prinz Luitpold would be in the hands of her junior officers.
They were all there, Theil, beside the towering Gudegast, Froebe, and Kroll, even Stuck, immaculate in a white boiler suit and somehow out of place. Oberleutnant Meile, the stores officer, who could at any time tell you how many cans of beans or sausages were being consumed per every nautical mile steamed, and of course Bauer, the smooth-faced communications officer.
Hechler saw the new doctor's shape wedged in one corner, as if he was trying to stay out of sight.
Leitner cleared his throat and glanced at his side. 'Very well, Helmut, we will begin.'
Hechler saw Gudegast raise an eyebrow at Froebe, and the latter's brief grin. Leitner's familiarity with his flag-lieutenant was unusual in public.
Hechler felt their interest as the aide laid a new chart on the table. It was covered with arrows and estimated positions where Lietner had plotted the ceaseless stream of information gathered by the W/T office.
He thought of the hasty Crossing the Line rituals that morning as the ship had reached the Equator, the makeshift ceremony on the forecastle while the anti-aircraft guns had sniffed at the clear sky, and every lookout had scanned his allotted piece of ocean. There was no carrier within a hundred miles, nor had any more submarines been reported. But the spies and the intelligence network which had been built up into an efficient world-wide machine during the past ten years or so, could not be expected to have all the answers.
Hechler had been on the bridge and had watched the boatswain, Brezirika, dressed in a false beard of spunyarn and a flowing robe made of bunting. His cropped head had been topped by a convincing crown, as he had challenged the cruiser's right to enter his domain. The rough ceremony was like a tonic after the strain and uncertainty, and even the young officers who were subjected
to the 'bears' ' rough handling and ducked in a canvas bath, took
it all in good part.
He thought of the girl who was confined to his own quarters, of his last, short visit there. She had been propped on a bank of pillows, dressed in another pyjama jacket which Stroheim's assis-lants must have found somewhere. She had greeted him with a smile; once again it had been an awkward greeting. Not as strangers this time, but like those who have been parted for a long while. 'Are they taking care of you?' Even that had sounded clumsy. He had wanted to tell her how he had touched her, had later sat on the bridge chair and thought about her, when the words had flowed so easily through his mind.
She had smiled and had tried to struggle up on her elbows. He had seen the sudden pain in her eyes, and helped her to be comfortable again.
She had said. 'You came to me when I got back.'
'Yes. We were all so proud of you.' He had looked at his hands. I was very proud. I thought when I saw the damage
She had reached out and their hands had touched. 'I knew you'd wait for me. Somehow I thought you'd pick me up,'
She had lain back., her hand still against his. 'How is the plane?' she had asked.
Then they had laughed together. As if it mattered.
Hechler looked up as Leitner's voice brought him into the present.
'It has been confirmed that the major convoy of enemy troops is going ahead.' He waited for his aide to rest a pointer on the chart. 'Around Good Hope, then escorted all the way to Gibraltar
to change to an even larger protective screen with all the air cover they need.' He eyed them calmly, and Hechler wondered if the others were thinking of the doctor's outburst about the Liibeck, the Allied successes in France and Holland. Equally, if Leitner was searching for doubt or disloyalty amongst them.
Hechler glanced at Theil. He looked very calm, but the hands which gripped the seams of his trousers made a lie of his composure.
Leitner continued, 'If the British have a weakness it is their overriding interest in protecting life rather than the materials of war. They do not seem to realise that without such materials, they can lose everything, including the lives of those they intended to defend. It is a false equation, gentlemen, and we shall prove just how futile it is.'
The pointer moved on past the Cape, where the Atlantic met the power of the Indian Ocean.
'In moments of crisis, whole armies have been forced to a halt by the inability to keep up a supply of fuel. Even our own forces in Russia have often been in a stalemate because of holdups, flaws in the supply-line.'
Hechler thought of the great battleship Tirpitz, confined in her Norwegian fjord while her fuel had been earmarked for the tanks on the Eastern front. Because of her inability to move, the British midget submarines had found and crippled her. It was unlikely she would ever move again. Hechler still believed that the pre cious fuel would have done far more good in Tirpitz's bunkers
than in a squadron of snow-bound tanks in Russia. She was the greatest warship ever designed. If she were here now, they could have taken on the troop convoy and destroyed it, no matter what escorts were thrown against them.
Leitner said, There is just such a convoy, two days behind the troopships. A fast one, of the very largest tankers.' He allowed his words to sink in as the pointer came to rest on the Persian Gulf. 'It was assembled here. Twelve big tankers. Thi
nk of them, gentlemen. The life-blood of an army!'
Then his tone became almost matter-of-fact, bored even, as he said, 'Except for any unforeseen factor there would be little chance of surprise. My information -' his gaze rested only lightly on Hechler '- is that the enemy has no idea where we are at present, nor how we are obtaining our own fuel supply.' He
nodded slowly. 'Planning, gentlemen - it far outpaces sentiment ,md outmoded strategy.' He jerked his head at his aide. 'Show
them.'
The pointer rested on a mere dot in the Atlantic, just northwest of Ascension Island.
Leitner watched their faces as they all craned forward. 'The island of St Jorge.'
Gudegast said, 'A rock, nothing more. Like a pinnacle sticking up from the ocean bed.'
Leitner gave him a thin smile. 'I shall ignore your scepticism. You are, after all, more used to trading your wares around the sea ports than practising the arts of war, eh?'
Gudegast flushed, but when he opened his mouth to retort,
Froebe touched his arm.
Hechler saw it, but doubted if anyone else had noticed the warning.
Leitner said, There is a Cable and Wireless station there which was built just before the outbreak of war.' His eyes flashed. Before we were forced as a nation to defend ourselves against British Imperialists and the dictates of Judaism!'
His aide said nervously, The wireless station has a powerful transmitter, more so even than those in the Falklands.'
Hechler asked, 'Shall we destroy it, sir?' He felt he had to say something, if only to snap the tension, to release his officers from being addressed like unreliable schoolboys.
'I spoke of surprise.' Leitner was very relaxed. Only the eyes gave away his triumph, the sense that he had them all in the palm ol his hand. 'Provided we are not detected or attacked by some untoward enemy vessel, I intend not to destroy that radio station, but to capture it!'
They all stared at each other, their incredulity giving way to surprised grins as Leitner explained, 'We will fly our landing party ahead. By this method the enemy will have no chance to warn their patrols and raise the alarm. Down here, in mid- Atlantic, it would be the last thing any sane man would be expecting.' He turned his lace very sharply to Hechler. 'What do you say?'
Hechler pictured the lonely Cable and Wireless station. An outpost in the middle of nowhere. No real loss to the enemy if some long-range U-boat surfaced and shot down the radio masts. But absolutely vital if they could signal the Prinz's whereabouts.
Hechler said, 'Capture it and make a false signal '
Leitner said, 'Yes. When - er, we are ready.'
He sounded irritated, disappointed perhaps that Hechler had not waited for a full explanation of his plan.
Hechler said, 'It is a wild chance.' He looked at Theil's blank face. 'And I think it might just work.'
What did it matter now anyway? Any risk, almost, was justified this far from base. Keep the enemy guessing, leave no set or mean track, and then they would continue to hold an advantage. A final confrontation could be avoided if their luck held out.
Leitner said, 'We will have another conference tomorrow.' He eyed them for a few seconds. 'Early. I will not abide laggards in this command!'
He swung on his heel and left the conning-tower.
Gudegast exclaimed, 'Aircraft? Better them than me!'
Theil crossed to Hechler's side. What do you really think?'
Hechler looked at the chart. If they failed to mount a surprise attack it would be an open invitation to every enemy squadron and patrol to converge on the tiny island of St Jorge. Hechler pictured the Liibeck as she must have been, heeling over, her guns silent while the enemy watched her final moments.
Suppose a signal was handed to him? The order to scuttle rather than meet an honourable fate; what should he do? What could he do?
He said, It is a daring plan, Viktor. It would mean leaving * some volunteers on the island. For them, the war would be over,
but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. After the war they might be heroes.' He watched for some sign of a smile or even disagreement. But Theil said fervently, For Germany. Any man would volunteer!'
'Perhaps.' He heard Gudegast give a snort of anger at something Froebe had said and when Theil turned to listen he watched his profile. Did he suspect, he wondered? Surely no man could love someone and not feel her anguish, her need?
For all their sakes, the ship had to come first. And yet, had he been informed earlier, when Leitner had not been aboard, would he have told Theil about his wife?
Suppose it had been Inger?
He saw the doctor making for the door and called, I want to talk to you.'
The doctor faced him warily. 'Sir?'
'Come to the bridge. I should like to ask you something.'
Theil watched them leave and ground his teeth. Thick as thieves, even after what had happened.
It was because of that girl. How could the captain behave so stupidly? Any officer, let alone one given command of a ship like this, had to be above such things. He stared after the others as they hurried away to their various departments. It was all so unfair. I should have command here. Perhaps it had all gone wrong a long time ago without his knowing? Britta may have said or done something indiscreet. It would go on his record, not hers.
He clenched his fists together until he felt sick with the realisa-I ion. It had been her fault. When the war was over, he would be overridden by younger men; he might even be discharged! He t bought of the friendly way Hechler had spoken to the doctor.
A new strength seemed to run through him. This was his chance to show Hechler, to prove to everyone what he could do, bow much he was worth.
Gudegast rolled up his chart and watched his superior grimly. What was the matter with everybody, he wondered, if they could not see that Theil was cracking up?
He glanced at his watch. He would work on his charts and then retire to his cabin. The painting was coming along well. He gave a great sigh. Gerda was probably fixed up with another man already. He grinned. The painting would have to do instead. But lor once he was unable to lift his apprehension.
Hechler felt the arm of his chair dig into his side, remain there, and then slowly withdraw as the ship swayed upright again. They had reduced speed to twelve knots and the Prinz was finding it uncomfortable. She was more used to slicing through every kind of sea with her cutaway Atlantic bow.
Despite the clear blue sky it was chilly on the open bridge after the heat of midday. The sun looked like a solid bronze orb, and was already laying a shimmering cloak down from the hard horizon line. Hechler turned up the collar of his watchcoat and saw his reflection in the glass screen. Hat tugged over his forehead, the old grey fisherman's sweater protruding through his heavy coat. Not everyone's idea of a naval officer, he thought.
A seaman handed him a mug of coffee and another to the doctor who had joined him, somewhat uneasily in that corner of the bridge. Hechler said, 'It will be another clear day tomorrow.'
'Is that good, sir?' He watched Hechler's strong profile. A face with character and determination. No wonder Erika Franke was so interested. She had not said as much, nor had he asked her directly, but Stroheim knew enough about women to recognise the signs.
Hechler sipped the coffee. It must have been reheated for a dozen watches, he thought. But it was better than nothing.
'It could make things easier for our pilots.' He thought of the girl in his bunk. It might have been Leitner's intention to send her with the others, perhaps with a film camera as her sole protection. She had at least been spared that. He thought too of his answer. Another clear day might also bring an unexpected ship or aircraft, detection and the beginning of a chase.
Hechler added abruptly, 'You were stupid to speak as you did in the wardroom. I should punish you, but -' He turned in the chair and glances at the doctor curiously. But, that word again.'
Stroheim smiled awkwardly. 'Perhaps I was wrong. I'm sorry. But I
was angry at the time, incensed. Not that I could do anything.'
Hechler turned away to watch the horizon as it began to slope to the opposite side once more. In another moment he will ask me what I think, if what he heard is true.
He said, 'You are a non-combatant, but out here you are at risk like the rest of us.'
Stroheim made himself look at the ocean and shivered despite his thick coat.
He would be glad when night fell. The ship became more dominant, invulnerable, just as his own quarters and sick-bay had become personal, an escape.
He watched the bronze reflection and knew he would never be at home on the sea. Up here, on one of the highest points in the ship, it was all the more obvious. A vast, shark-blue desert, endless in every direction, horizon to horizon, so that the great ship seemed to shrink to something frail and unprotected. He thought of Gudegast, a man he liked although the navigator fought off every kind of close contact. He was at home out here, could find his way as others might grope through a city fog.
A man of peace, no matter what he proclaimed openly. A true sailor, not a professional naval officer like Theil and most of the others. He glanced at Hechler again. And what about the captain? One who was not of any mould he knew. A loner, who accepted leadership without question.
Stroheim asked, 'Do you ever have doubts?' For a moment he thought he had gone too far, that the small contact was broken.
Hechler swung round in the chair, his eyes very blue in the strange light.
'Doubts? What do you think? You are the expert, surely!' He became calm again, angry perhaps that his guard had been penetrated so easily. 'My day is full of them. I must question the weather, my resources, the strength and weakness of every man aboard. The ship is like a chain. A weak link can cause disaster.'
He forced a smile. 'Satisfied?'
Stroheim grinned. 'I am glad you are in command. I hate the sea, but if I must be here, then so be it.'
Hechler did not look at him. 'You are a man of the World. While I have been at sea, learning my profession, you have seen and done many things. You must have found the war very difficult.'
iron pirate Page 18