Caine Mutiny, The - Herman Wouk [252]
“Commander, are you suggesting there were abnormal relations between Lieutenant Keith and the sailor Stilwell?”
“I’m not suggesting a thing,” Queeg said with a sly grin. “I’m stating plain facts that everybody knew who had eyes to see.”
Greenwald looked around at Blakely. “Does the court desire to caution the witness about the gravity of this insinuated charge?”
“I’m not insinuating a thing, sir!” Queeg said nasally. “I don’t know of anything improper between those two men and I deny insinuating anything. I said Keith was always taking Stilwell’s part and it’s the easiest thing in the world to prove and that’s all I said or meant. I resent the twisting of my words.”
Blakely, his face all wrinkled, said to Greenwald, “Are you going to pursue this topic?”
“No, sir.”
“Very well. Go ahead.”
“Commander Queeg, during the period when the Caine was towing targets at Pearl Harbor did you ever steam over your own towline and cut it?”
“Objection!” Challee was on his feet again. Blakely gave him a frankly irritated look and ordered the court cleared, motioning to the two lawyers to remain behind.
The skin of Challee’s face was leaden gray. “I beg the court’s indulgence. I must object. This towline business is the last straw. The tactics of the defense counsel are an outrage on the dignity of these proceedings. He’s systematically turning this trial into a court-martial of Commander Queeg. He’s not bringing out any evidence bearing on the issue. He’s trying to smear and defame Queeg and nothing else.”
Greenwald said, “Sir, the judge advocate has made it perfectly clear that he thinks he has a prima facie case in the report of the three psychiatrists. Maybe he wants the defense to switch to a guilty plea. But I say it’s still up to the court, not to shore-bound doctors, however brilliant, to judge whether the captain of the Caine was mentally well enough to retain his self-control and his post during a typhoon. This is a direct argument to the issue. I have no way to conduct it except to review the witness’s performance of duty in critical situations prior to the typhoon.”
“Counsel will step outside,” said Blakely.
“I must respectfully state,” said the judge advocate, “that in my opinion, if my objection is overruled, and the reviewing authority disapproves the court’s ruling, it will be a fatal error invalidating the entire proceedings, and a miscarriage of justice will result.”
“Very well, clear the court.”
There was a fifteen-minute wait. Blakely and the other court members looked grim when the parties returned. “The objection is overruled. The witness will answer the question.” Challee appeared stunned, sitting down slowly. The stenographer read the question about the towline from the record.
Queeg answered promptly, “Well, here’s the story on that particular slander. I saw some AA bursts close aboard to starboard. I was gravely concerned that my ship might be within range of somebody’s firing. We were in a gunnery area. I was watching the bursts. This same sailor Stilwell, a very dreamy and unreliable man, was at the helm. He failed to warn me that we were coming around the full 360 degrees. I saw what was happening, finally, and instantly reversed course, and I avoided passing over the towline, to my best knowledge. However, the line parted during the turn. There was a lot of vicious gossip, circulated mainly by Stilwell and Keith, to the effect that I’d cut the towline. I ascribed the mishap to a defective line in my written report to ComServPac. And he was cognizant of all this vicious gossip. And he knew all the circumstances. And he still accepted my report. It’s on file. So I say it’s conceivable that this vicious gossip was correct, but I consider it much more likely that the judgment of ComServPac in the matter can be relied on.”
Greenwald nodded. “You were distracted, you say, by AA bursts. Did anything else distract you?”
“Not that I recall.”
“Were you engaged in reprimanding a signalman named Urban at length for having his shirttail out, while your ship was turning 360