"I'm all right, Sir," Moore said, although that wasn't the truth. He had had trouble staying awake waiting for Captain Pickering.
"You don't have to be afraid of me, Sergeant," Pickering said. "I'm one of the good Naval officers."
"Sir?"
"Major Banning, your new CO, identifies good Naval officers as those who have previously been Marines. I was a Marine Corporal in what is now known as World War I."
Moore looked at him directly, for the first time, and saw that Pickering was smiling. He smiled back.
"And I have a boy about your age in the Corps," Pickering said. "What are you, twenty-one, twenty-two?"
"Twenty-two, Sir."
"How long have you been in the Corps?"
"About four months, Sir."
"You made buck sergeant in a hurry," Pickering said. But it was more of a question than a statement.
"When they took me out of boot camp to send me here, they made me a sergeant, Sir. I was originally supposed to go to Quantico and get a commission."
"Oh, really? You went to college, then?"
"Yes, Sir. Pennsylvania."
"Well, I'm sorry about the commission. But the Corps needed your skill here and now. What is that?"
"Sir?"
"Why did they take you out of boot camp and rush you over here?"
"Captain, I was told not to talk about anything connected with my transfer here."
"I understand, but, for all practical purposes, I'm Major Banning's commanding officer."
"Captain, with respect, I don't know that."
Pickering chuckled. "No, you don't. Good for you, Sergeant."
"Are we going to Special Detachment 14 now, Sir?"
"They're in Townesville, in Queensland, sort of on the upper right-hand corner of the Australian continent. What we're going to do is get you a hotel room. Have you got any money?"
"Yes, Sir."
"You're sure? Don't be embarrassed."
"I've got money, thank you, Sir."
"OK. So we'll get you a hotel. You can have a bath, and get something to eat, and in the morning, we'll get you together with Major Banning."
"Yes, Sir."
"I suppose I'd better have a set of your orders, and your service records, if you have them."
"Yes, Sir, they're in my bag."
Chapter Nine
(One)
THE ELMS
DANDENONG, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
1845 HOURS 28 JUNE 1942
Major Ed Banning and Lieutenant Pluto Hon were on the wide veranda of The Elms when Pickering drove up. It was a pleasant place to watch darkness fall.
They both stood up as soon as the Jaguar drophead stopped. Banning set his drink on the wide top of the railing, and Hon stooped and set his on the floor.
"Good evening, Sir," they said, almost in unison.
Charley Cavendish, in a striped butler's apron, came from inside the house.
"I'd have been happy to go to town for you, Sir," Charley said.
"I know. Thank you, Charley. It was no trouble. I hope you have been taking care of these gentlemen? Lemonade, tea, that sort of thing?"
"Of course, Sir."
"Major Banning," Pickering said dryly, "the Marine Corps, in its infinite wisdom, has seen fit to increase your troop strength with a Sergeant John M. Moore. I just put him in a hotel. Here's his paperwork."
"How did you wind up with Sergeant Whatsisname, Captain?" Major Banning asked, as he took the service record envelope from Pickering.
"Moore is his name," Pickering said. "I wound up with him, Major, because you have failed in your obligation to keep Melbourne NATS up to date on your telephone numbers. I know this because a Lieutenant Commander named Lentz called up here and chewed me out about it."
"What?" Banning asked incredulously.
"At the time, he thought I was a Marine and one of your subordinate officers," Pickering said.
"And you didn't tell him?"
"Not at first," Pickering said, "but I think I ruined his supper when I dropped `we Naval officers' into the conversation later on."
"Captain, I could have gone down there and picked him up," Pluto Hon said. "You should have called me."