Caine Mutiny, The - Herman Wouk [231]
“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 wardroom. 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?