this time Martin shook his head slowly.
“Why don’t you castrate me?”
“You’ve had this coming. It’s averages, Ted.”
“Maybe. But what’s it going to do to Stitch?”
Dennis forced a smile which he hoped looked natural.
“Set us back a day. We’ll do Schweinhafen tomorrow and Fendelhorst Monday. I think the weather will hold.”
“Will Kane?”
“He’ll have to.”
“Casey, he had cold feet before we started. I doubt if he ever came clean with Washington. What do you think he’s going to say to this?”
Dennis shrugged. “Just another casualty for Operation Stitch.”
“Casey!” Martin had come alive again now with hot, concerned protest. “Quit hurting about casualties. Most of these guys would be killed in a normal tour anyway. We’ve been through that before. This way they’re doing something that counts instead of running up phony statistics for that old…”
“Ted, he’s our chief.”
“Sure! Sure he’s our chief. And a good soldier is loyal. It says so in the book. But what’s he loyal to, anyway… to mortal, fallible men above him, half the time dopes and cowards with shelves full of rules they’ve made to protect themselves… or is he loyal to his own common sense… and to guys who have to do things that aren’t in the books, like Stitch? You better get your head out of the clouds before you lose it, Casey.”
It was an old argument between them.
“Kane didn’t forbid Stitch, Ted.”
“Did he authorize it? Did he attend his weather conferences and go on record like a man? Not Kane. You’re the goat on this one.”
“Other guys have been killed. If I get canned…”
“If you get canned it’s the end of honest bombardment here and you know it! We’ll piddle away our planes building statistics over France while they build a defense over Germany that will make today’s losses look like a sprained ankle.”
Even through the Ops room door Haley could hear the crackling fury of Martin’s voice and it made him shudder. He knew that the men had been inseparable friends for fifteen years but he considered that only the more reason why Martin should have been more discreet. It was true that Martin always behaved with correct subordination when the two were in public but now half the building could hear his anger, if not his words. Most major generals would not have used that tone on Dennis. Some of the enlisted men were openly smiling now and Haley was glad of an excuse to enter the room. He found the two deadlocked, but as always they shut up in the presence of anyone else.
“The Hemisphere Commander’s Public Relations Officer is calling General Kane, sir.”
“I told you he’s at a group, probably in an Interrogation hut. And let me speak to him before P.R.O. does.”
This time Martin’s heedless vehemence did not even await the full closing of the door.
“You can’t tell him, Casey. You’re protecting him not to. And what about the guys we’ve already lost? If Kane quits now they’re wasted. We’ve either got to finish now or we might as well take this Air Army back to Arizona. It’s us or them, this week, boy, and you’re the only guy in the hemisphere with guts enough to see it through.”
“How… if we don’t tell him?” asked Dennis warily.
“Let him be happy with today’s pictures. Tomorrow we’ll knock off Fendelhorst. Then Monday, when he orders his usual month-end milk run to Calais or Dunkirk we’ll go back and clean up Schweinhafen.”
It was so exactly what Dennis had been thinking himself that he could not suppress a guilty start. Of course it was natural; his mind and Ted’s had been working together for fifteen years. Even now Ted was watching him measuring it, following his clear understanding that it was a workable expedient. The return of Haley gave him a minute more.
“Sixty-sixth Wing reports both of today’s reconnaissance planes now four hours overdue, sir.”
Dennis cleared his head with a hard shake.
“Why don’t you castrate me?”
“You’ve had this coming. It’s averages, Ted.”
“Maybe. But what’s it going to do to Stitch?”
Dennis forced a smile which he hoped looked natural.
“Set us back a day. We’ll do Schweinhafen tomorrow and Fendelhorst Monday. I think the weather will hold.”
“Will Kane?”
“He’ll have to.”
“Casey, he had cold feet before we started. I doubt if he ever came clean with Washington. What do you think he’s going to say to this?”
Dennis shrugged. “Just another casualty for Operation Stitch.”
“Casey!” Martin had come alive again now with hot, concerned protest. “Quit hurting about casualties. Most of these guys would be killed in a normal tour anyway. We’ve been through that before. This way they’re doing something that counts instead of running up phony statistics for that old…”
“Ted, he’s our chief.”
“Sure! Sure he’s our chief. And a good soldier is loyal. It says so in the book. But what’s he loyal to, anyway… to mortal, fallible men above him, half the time dopes and cowards with shelves full of rules they’ve made to protect themselves… or is he loyal to his own common sense… and to guys who have to do things that aren’t in the books, like Stitch? You better get your head out of the clouds before you lose it, Casey.”
It was an old argument between them.
“Kane didn’t forbid Stitch, Ted.”
“Did he authorize it? Did he attend his weather conferences and go on record like a man? Not Kane. You’re the goat on this one.”
“Other guys have been killed. If I get canned…”
“If you get canned it’s the end of honest bombardment here and you know it! We’ll piddle away our planes building statistics over France while they build a defense over Germany that will make today’s losses look like a sprained ankle.”
Even through the Ops room door Haley could hear the crackling fury of Martin’s voice and it made him shudder. He knew that the men had been inseparable friends for fifteen years but he considered that only the more reason why Martin should have been more discreet. It was true that Martin always behaved with correct subordination when the two were in public but now half the building could hear his anger, if not his words. Most major generals would not have used that tone on Dennis. Some of the enlisted men were openly smiling now and Haley was glad of an excuse to enter the room. He found the two deadlocked, but as always they shut up in the presence of anyone else.
“The Hemisphere Commander’s Public Relations Officer is calling General Kane, sir.”
“I told you he’s at a group, probably in an Interrogation hut. And let me speak to him before P.R.O. does.”
This time Martin’s heedless vehemence did not even await the full closing of the door.
“You can’t tell him, Casey. You’re protecting him not to. And what about the guys we’ve already lost? If Kane quits now they’re wasted. We’ve either got to finish now or we might as well take this Air Army back to Arizona. It’s us or them, this week, boy, and you’re the only guy in the hemisphere with guts enough to see it through.”
“How… if we don’t tell him?” asked Dennis warily.
“Let him be happy with today’s pictures. Tomorrow we’ll knock off Fendelhorst. Then Monday, when he orders his usual month-end milk run to Calais or Dunkirk we’ll go back and clean up Schweinhafen.”
It was so exactly what Dennis had been thinking himself that he could not suppress a guilty start. Of course it was natural; his mind and Ted’s had been working together for fifteen years. Even now Ted was watching him measuring it, following his clear understanding that it was a workable expedient. The return of Haley gave him a minute more.
“Sixty-sixth Wing reports both of today’s reconnaissance planes now four hours overdue, sir.”
Dennis cleared his head with a hard shake.
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