“Not really, Sturton. You will discoverwhy captain and first are replaced – it should not affect the efficiency of theship and is best kept quiet. If I say nothing in this office, nothing can beoverheard. Oh, you know one of the lieutenants, thought he should join up withyou again.”
Tyrwhitt was trying to suppress his grin.Simon felt a sick certainty.
“Can I refuse the command, sir?”
“No! You’ve got it. And him. As you haveguessed, Mr Higgins is coming back to you, Sturton. You have made him all he is,my dear fellow, and he is all yours!”
“I cannot express my thanks too profusely,sir!”
Tyrwhitt, collapsed over his desk, roaringwith laughter.
“The Coastal Motor Boats are not ready foraction yet. Some sort of problem with the motors, it seems, needing a rebuild.He is at a loose end, as a result.”
“Describes the boy only too well, sir!”
“You are acting commander with immediateeffect, Sturton. Well done, sir! Are there any of your people who should bementioned?”
“Williams, sir, of Lynx. Brought his shipalongside and held her long enough for Lightning’s crew to step across. Verydeserving, sir. I have a list of casualties who will need replacing in theirships, sir. Lucifer is down to her midshipman, her officers all dead orseverely wounded. Campbell-Barnes survived. I do not know his condition. Themid did well to bring her back – I offered one of my people to relieve him, hereplied he had his certificate and could hold the bridge until he had broughther in. A Mention at the least, sir?”
“DSC for that, I think, Sturton. Impressivebehaviour. I do not doubt the Admiralty will accept my recommendation for himand for Williams. What of this destroyer you sank? Whose was it?”
“Lancelot’s, sir. My Mr Rees saw theopportunity and fired his torpedoes. My orders for night action give him thescope to select targets and fire torpedoes or guns at his discretion. He tellsme that the Hotchkiss was very effective, by the way. Far more so than theMaxim would have been. I would recommend their use on all destroyers, sir.”
“Noted. Whether Their Lordships will wanta French gun on an English ship is another matter, of course. They arecapable of being very petty on occasion. I was surprised they permitted theexperiment of placing one aboard Lancelot.”
Tyrwhitt was sufficiently senior to criticisethe Admiralty. Simon was not.
“The promotion, sir, makes it sensible forme to bring my marriage forward. May I have your permission to wed, sir?”
“Granted, Sturton. My best wishes. Who isthe young lady?”
“Miss Alice Parrett, sir. Sister to Polly.”
“Ah! All is clear! Congratulations – a goodfamily, the Parretts, and naval as well now. I cannot give you leave for a fewmonths, Sturton. Won’t fit in with our plans for the winter, I am afraid. Asyou know, we are short of boats at the moment and have to keep you all out on patrol.Should be better by May – we are getting things called patrol boats as well asmore destroyers. The Coastal Motor Boats should be in commission as well. All ofthem capable of chasing a submarine. Assume that the month of May will beyours. Your Naiad will probably be in need of dockyard time by then; all of theproblems of new ships should have surfaced after five months of seatime. WhileI think of it, is your boy Waller capable of taking over as First of Lancelot?”
Simon shook his head.
“Too soon, sir. He is an able lad, noquestion of that, but he hasn’t got the seatime in. Six months at least.McCracken could step up - and is senior besides.”
“The youngster with the harsh Ulsteraccent? Never liked that sound, you know, Sturton! If he is capable, then the goodof the service demands he must rise. Tell him, if you please.”
It seemed strange to Simon that an accentmight be a reason to hold a man down. He made no comment.
Returning to Lancelot he found he wasahead of the news, he was in front of the lower deck grapevine. Packer had not startedto pack his cabin.
“We are for Naiad, Packer. Put up my thirdring. Acting, not permanent yet.”
Simon ran up to the bridge, found Strachanacting as officer of the day.
“Naiad for you, Mr Strachan, as my Number One.Flotilla leader. Command for you within six months, if all goes as it should.McCracken will be taking over from you. I don’t know who the new captain willbe. The ship won’t be sailing for a week or two in any case.”
McCracken was in his bunk, getting an houror two of sleep in. He staggered out drowsily, woke up fast as he heard of hispromotion and that he had two hours to speak to Strachan before he left.
“It’s no worry, sir. Mr Strachan has beenshowing me the way about against need. I can do the job.”
“I know that, Mr McCracken. I would nototherwise have recommended you. I expect to see you as a captain before the endof the coming year!”
A few farewells, taking pains to speak toMalcolm in his engineroom, and he left an empty cabin, Packer and three handshaving packed at the run and gone ahead of him to Naiad, giving warning to themthat the new man was coming. Simon was aware that he had missed his dinner,thought it better to board his new command at the earliest. Tyrwhitt had saidnothing; he should have explained why the captaincy was vacant; it was out ofthe ordinary.
Captains were normally appointed to newships before they were launched, acting as overseers of the construction processand particularly of fitting out. Naiad’s previous owner should have been sixmonths aboard and would presumably have brought her down from the yard, likelyto have been on the northeast coast, Newcastle way. Now, the cabin was empty.
It was unlikely that the captain wouldhave been promoted out from a new ship, leaving much to be done to create anefficient crew.
That left room for conjecture.
Naiad was tied up, almost opposite theCommodore’s offices, an easy walk across from the yard. It had the advantagethat he was visible in the evening light at a good two
