U.S.S. Seawolf

destroyer at one mile distance. At least that’s what he believed.”

“And did you believe that distance?”

“Yessir. You expect your XO to be able to handle the periscope accurately.”

“But in hindsight, you now believe he was not doing that.”

“Obviously not, sir. And when the CO finally arrived, that much became very apparent.”

“You mean you accept Captain Crocker’s version of what had gone wrong — low power on the periscope, which made the destroyer seem much farther away than it really was?”

“No question, sir. I heard the lieutenant commander apologize. That’s what happened.”

“That’s all, Master Chief,” replied Admiral Curran. “Admiral Cameron may wish to say more.”

“I don’t think so,” replied the chairman. “The evidence of the Chief of the Boat and the evidence of the Officer of the Deck are identical. Mr. Mangone? Mr. Myerscough?”

“Nothing further from me,” said Art Mangone.

And once more Philip Myerscough stood up and attempted to cast Linus Clarke in a somewhat better light than that of error-prone number two on a nuclear submarine.

“Mr. Stockton,” he said, as if trying to distance himself entirely from the military. “You stated that you were certain that Lieutenant Commander Clarke had mistakenly placed the periscope on low power, which subsequently increased the apparent distance between Seawolf and the Chinese destroyer?”

“Yessir. I did. And I am.”

“What proof is there? What proof do you have? Is this not a mere speculation?”

“Well, sir, our commanding officer looked right through the periscope within moments of the error and stated that the Xiangtan was five hundred yards away.”

“But what proof is there that it was not Mr. Crocker who was mistaken and that Linus Clarke was correct all along?”

“I guess because we then wrapped our screw around the towed array, which was a lot nearer than Lieutenant Commander Clarke believed.”

“But how do you know it was not a mile long — and that Lieutenant Commander Clarke made no mistake?”

“Well, I don’t know that for certain, sir, but I never have heard that the Chinese own a mile-long towed array. No one in the United States Navy has ever even suggested such a thing. Longest I heard was one thousand yards.”

“But with respect, Mr. Stockton, the fact that you never heard of such a thing does not preclude it from existing?”

“Nossir. I guess not.”

“Then it would be foolish to discount the possibility?”

“Nossir. It would be foolish to include it. Captain Crocker saw the submarine with his own eyes five hundred yards off our port beam.”

“For three seconds, I believe. Not very long.”

“Sir, in our trade, assessing the surface picture, three seconds is long. Like three hours to a normal untrained person.”

Philip Myerscough chuckled a deep sardonic chuckle. “But Mr. Stockton,” he said, “no one else saw it, did they, because the submarine was trimmed stern down and the periscope was under the water?”

“No one saw it right then. But we came to the surface a very few minutes later. And the destroyer was still five hundred yards away.”

“And who had the periscope then?”

“The commanding officer, sir.”

“Anyone else?”

“Yessir.”

Philip Myerscough looked temporarily uncomfortable. “And who was that?” he asked.

“Me, sir. The CO handed over the periscope for me to look at the long wire on our screw. You could see it, about fifteen feet across, a huge tangle.”

At this point Mangone arose, and requested just one question at this juncture.

Admiral Cameron said, “Please proceed.” And with some annoyance, Myerscough sat down.

“Master Chief,” said Mangone, “when you looked through that periscope on the surface, within a very few minutes of the accident, how far was the destroyer from Seawolf?”

“Five hundred yards or so, sir.”

“Thank you, Master Chief. Just checking. No further questions.”

Philip Myerscough stood again. “Mr. Stockton, how long have you served with Captain Crocker?”

“Oh, we’ve done maybe six tours of duty together.”

“Would it be fair to say you admire him greatly?”

“Yessir. The best I ever sailed with.”

“And would you say you are completely loyal to him? As your CO?”

“Yessir. I am.”

“Perhaps too loyal?”

“Nossir.”

“Perhaps more loyal to Captain Crocker than you might be to the absolute truth?”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!!” Admiral Cameron was on his feet. “I have already explained to you, Mr. Myerscough, that I will not have my men examined as if they were in a civilian court. Perhaps I should spell it out further. Men like Brad Stockton hold this Navy together. He is not an ordinary man. He is a man of vast integrity, holding a position of quite awesome responsibility. Not for money, not for cheap glory, but for the sense of achieving a massively important task. Every day. In harm’s way. Protecting this nation. I will not have him treated like the kind of criminal you deal with in your chosen way of life.”

And then he softened a little. “Mr. Myerscough, you will treat my men with total respect, or I will not hesitate to have you escorted from this Board of Inquiry. IS THAT QUITE CLEAR?”

Admiral Cameron, however, was too late. The question had been asked, though not answered. And it was in the record. The seed of doubt had been sown, that Brad Stockton would support anything Judd Crocker said.

And Philip Myerscough knew it. He just said, “With respect, sir.” And resumed his seat.

The next witness to be called was Lieutenant Commander Clarke himself. And for the first time he moved away from his lawyer’s side, standing now in front of the admirals.

The formalities were dispensed with, and the President’s son swore to tell the truth.

There were no discrepancies in the basic points of evidence. The times and facts were not in dispute. What was in dispute was how far away that destroyer was when Linus Clarke drove Seawolf over the towed array.

And if Linus had been apologizing in the conn on the morning of July 5, he very definitely was not doing so now. He stood back and argued with Admiral Freddie Curran that he had been correct, that there was a mile between the ships. It was not, could not have been his fault. He would never make such an elementary error with the periscope.

In his opinion, the Chinese towed array must have been a mile long. There was no other explanation, and it could not be proved one way or another. So far as Linus was concerned, it was his word against Judd Crocker’s and that was all.

The Board of Inquiry listened carefully to the deadlock, and then invited Mangone to ask any further questions, if he so wished.

The California attorney came straight to the point. “Two important members of the submarine’s crew, the Officer of the Deck and the Chief of the Boat, have both sworn they heard you apologize to the CO for committing the fundamental error of having the periscope on low power. Do you now deny that was so?”

“No sir. I did apologize. I was completely intimidated by Captain Crocker, sir. He looked as if he was going to strike me. He was out of control.”

“Were you normally afraid of Judd Crocker?”

“A little. He’s a very physical person. And he can be quite threatening.”

“Mr. Clarke, I did anticipate that you may wish to develop that line, and I took the trouble to comb through