The second lieutenant drove the car to the crowded dock, parked the car next to a two-story building, turned to Henry and said politely, "Colonel, this is an office on the dock, and Lieutenant Colonel Ellman should be inside." You wait here for a while, I'll go in and have a look. ”

"Excuse me, second lieutenant!" Henry looked at the back of the ensign and said gratefully.

Watching the back of the second lieutenant disappear from the door of the building, I couldn't help but say to Henry with some emotion: "Colonel, there is really a big difference between the regulations of the US army and our army, if we change our commander, we will never dare to leave casually before getting permission from our superiors." But look at this second lieutenant," I said, snorting in the direction of the building, "and if you say hello as he does and leave without permission, you will be severely scolded by the superior commander, if not confined." ”

Henry listened to me, but only smiled but did not speak. The translator, who was sitting in the passenger seat, took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to Henry along with the box, but Henry waved his hand and refused. The interpreter put the cigarette case in front of me again and asked politely, "General, won't you have one?" ”

I also waved my hand and smiled at him, "I'm sorry, I don't smoke." ”

When the interpreter got out of the car to smoke, Henry and I were left in the car. He glanced at the entrance of the building, and when he saw that the second lieutenant had not returned, he chatted with me about homely things: "General, listening to your name, it seems that you use your husband's surname. But I don't think I've ever heard of a general in the Soviet army with this surname. I can ask your husband, the officer, Oshanin. Where are you now? ”

"Colonel, you are right, he is indeed not a general. He's just an ordinary captain. From the tone of his voice, I could tell that the reason why he asked about Oshanin was not because he wanted the atmosphere in the car to be too dull, so he talked to me about homely things, and I replied truthfully: "Before the outbreak of war, he was a captain at a border post, and during the battle he was captured by the Germans. But soon escaped again. During the Battle of Moscow, he joined a canine death squad specializing in German tanks and was seriously wounded in battle. And was sent to the rear, and then we lost contact. ”

"I'm sorry, General, I shouldn't have brought up your sad past." Henry listened to me. Apologize to me immediately. "I was so reckless."

I had a good impression of this polite middle-aged naval colonel, and when I heard him say this, I quickly waved my hand and said with a smile: "It's okay, Colonel, you don't have to blame yourself so much." In war, there will definitely be sacrifices. "Since I didn't know how I was going to explain Oshanin to him next, I changed the subject." Colonel, how many children do you have? ”

Colonel Henry held out two fingers. He said with a smile: "I have two sons, both of whom are married. ”

"You look so young, I didn't expect your two sons to get married" I didn't expect the sons of Colonel Henry, who looked to be in his early forties, to get married, so I asked tentatively, "Do they have children?" ”

"The eldest son has a daughter, who is three years old this year." Hearing me ask about my family situation, Colonel Henry smiled on his face and said happily: "The second daughter-in-law is also pregnant, and the child will be born in July." ”

"Where do they work?" The smile on Henry's face was also contagious, and I was completely liberated from the bad mood of hearing the Chief of Staff of the Navy refuse to let me go on a warship, "Is it to work in the factory, or in the army?" ”

"They're all in the navy." Henry said happily: "The eldest son works on the submarine, and the second son is the pilot of the Hornet. He probably thought that I didn't know the common sense that the same family was not allowed to serve on the same ship, and he also gave me a science popularization: "Originally, both brothers were on the Hornet, but after the war broke out, the president issued an order that the same family was not allowed to serve on the same ship, so the eldest son went to the submarine force." ”

He was about to say something to me, when he suddenly heard the interpreter shouting in a low voice outside: "Colonel, the second lieutenant is out." ”

The two of us hurriedly looked out the window of the car, and saw the second lieutenant hurrying out of the building, followed only by a lieutenant, who seemed to have not found Captain Ehrman.

Henry pushed the door open and got out of the car and stood quietly beside the car. I hurriedly opened the door on the other side, got out of the car, and went around to Henry's place, waiting with him for the second lieutenant's reply.

The second lieutenant came over and saluted me, and with a nervous look on his face, he reported: "Colonel, this is the officer on duty on the Eldridge, and he said that Lieutenant Colonel Elman has gone on the warship. ”

As soon as the lieutenant with the red armband on his arm finished speaking, he hurriedly took a step forward and asked respectfully, "Colonel, I am the duty officer of the Eldridge, what can I do for you?" ”

Although the officer in front of him was much lower in rank than himself, Colonel Henry still asked politely: "Lieutenant, I have something I want to see Lieutenant Commander Ellman, I wonder if you can take us to the destroyer?" ”

The young lieutenant hesitated for a moment, then nodded, and replied, "Yes, Colonel." Please come with me. After saying that, he made a gesture of invitation and led the way for us in front.

Henry looked at the ensign and the interpreter next to him, and said to the two: "General Oshanina and I can just get on the Eldridge, and you two can stay here and wait for us." ”

For his order, the two officers of the lower rank agreed in unison: "Yes!" At the same time, he raised his hand and saluted Colonel Henry with an American military salute.

Henry turned his head and said to me with a smile, "General, let's go." Then he said self-deprecatingly, "The lieutenant who led us in front of him walked really fast, and if he didn't follow, he would be gone." ”

We followed the lieutenant, around the building, and down the stairs by the river. I saw that at the end of the overplacement, a small motorboat stopped, and on board two sailors in white uniforms and beanie hats were busy.

As we walked to the motorboat, two sailors spotted our arrival. Hurriedly stopped what he was doing and raised his hand to salute us. The lieutenant turned to Henry and said enthusiastically, "Colonel, you can come over on this ship later." Then he ordered two sailors. The two of you are in charge of getting the Colonel to the Eldridge, understand? ”

"Understood." The two sailors replied in unison.

The lieutenant did not leave immediately after giving orders to his men, but watched us leave by boat, and after giving us another military salute, he turned and walked back.

When the motorboat carrying us came to a steady stop next to the ramp of the destroyer. Henry, after thanking the two sailors, gestured to me and motioned for me to follow him up the steep gangway to the ship.

Saw the two of us climb up the steep gangway to the ship. A nearby officer on duty immediately walked over. Without waiting for him to speak, Colonel Henry, who had stood firm, raised his hand and saluted the military flag hanging from the flagpole. After a few moments, he saluted the officer and said, "I ask for permission to board the ship." ”

I started by stepping onto the deck of the Eldridge. I have been paying attention to Colonel Henry's every move. Seeing him saluting the military flag and the officers on duty, he also did the same and saluted the military flag and officers of the US Navy respectively.

Although the young officer heard what Colonel Henry said, he still looked at me before he said in an official tone: "Agreed, sir! ”

"My name is Victor. Henry! Colonel Henry didn't go around in circles, and directly explained his intention, "I have something to find Lieutenant Colonel Ellman." Do you know where he is? ”

"Yes, sir!" The officer on duty replied respectfully: "I will send someone to inform him." Sir. After saying these two words, he turned to the busy people on the deck and shouted, "Herald! ”

As he shouted, a sergeant wearing a beanie hat ran over, raised his hand and saluted the three of us in return, and then turned to the officer on duty and asked, "Sir, what instructions do you have?" ”

"Sergeant, do you see Colonel Henry next to me? He had something important to look for Lieutenant Colonel Elman. The officer on duty ordered the sergeant in front of him in a stern tone: "You immediately go to the captain in the cabin and report this matter to him." Do you understand? ”

"Understood, sir!" The sergeant, who received the order, said yes loudly, turned and ran briskly along the deck.

After the sergeant had left, Henry said to the officer on duty in a consultative tone: "Your captain may have to wait a little longer before he comes, I want to go to the deck first, do you have any opinion?" ”

Hearing Henry's question, the officer on duty immediately panicked, and after he looked at me nervously, he said with some embarrassment: "Sir, we can't allow outsiders to walk around the ship without the permission of our superiors. ”

Henry stared at the officer on duty, and said in a stern tone: "This general is a guest of our country, and I have been ordered to bring her to watch the launching ceremony of the Eldridge today. ”

The officer on duty was frightened by Henry's expression, and he hesitated for a moment before he said cautiously: "Sir, before the captain arrives, you can only walk around the deck, and you can't enter the cabin casually, otherwise the consequences will be unbearable." ”

"Got it," said Henry, waving at him impatiently, "until Lieutenant Colonel Ellman showed up, we were just walking around the deck. After saying that, he turned to look at me and said with a smile: "General, under the current situation, we can only walk around the deck for the time being, and if we want to visit the ship's facilities, we can only wait until the captain comes." ”

The two of us walked along the foredeck, carefully avoiding the sailors who were crouching on the ground to wipe the deck, and the workers in blue cloth overalls next to us to overhaul the equipment.

When I came to the side of the ship, I held on to the railing, looked at the slipway where the Eldridge had just stayed, and asked Henry curiously: "Colonel, may I ask you how many ships your shipyard can produce in a month?" ”

As soon as the words came out, I realized that I had asked the wrong question, this was a secret involving the US Navy, how could I tell an outsider casually. Just as I was frustrated, I heard Henry politely reply, "The Richmond shipyard has built 13 freewheels in 37 days," he said, pointing to the slipway in the distance, and went down in a steady tone, "These freewheels were also launched laterally, like the Eldridge today." I was also at the scene at the time, and I saw the row of steamers standing on the shore, being kicked into the sea one by one by an invisible giant, and the spectacular scene is still fresh in my memory. ”

Colonel Henry's answer was clever and did not hurt my face or divulge US Navy secrets. I smiled kindly at his answer, and suddenly remembered something, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Colonel, I would like to ask, what is the free wheel?" ”

"Liberty wheel," Henry laughed dumbly when he heard my childish question, and then explained to me, "a merchant ship of about 10,000 tons." Because of the speed of construction and the inexpensiveness, except for a part of the Lend-Lease Act that was offered to Britain and your foreign countries, the rest was used to replace merchant ships sunk by German submarines. ”

"Hello, sir!" Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice came from behind us.

When we turned around, we saw a stocky lieutenant commander standing in front of us, and behind him, the sergeant, I guessed that the person in front of us might be Lieutenant Commander Elman, the captain of the Eldridge.

Henry raised his hand in return, smiled and stretched out his hand to the other party, and said enthusiastically: "Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Ellman, we meet again." It seems that you have mixed well for more than a year, the last time I saw you was a major, and now you are a lieutenant colonel, and the advantage of the war is that you are promoted quickly. ”

Then he took the initiative to introduce me to the captain of the Eldridge: "General, this is Lieutenant Commander Elman, who used to be my subordinate, and now he is also a captain. Then he turned to Ellman and said, "This is General Oshanina from Soviet Russia, and she has come to watch the launching of the Eldridge today." ”

"Hello, sir!" Lieutenant Colonel Ellman saluted me, and while shaking hands, perhaps thinking that I could not understand English, he asked Henry in a low voice: "Sir, you have been to Moscow with the first Lend-Lease mission, and this general is the one you knew at that time?" ”

"It's not." Henry replied very dryly: "She came with the Soviet diplomatic corps, and I took her to the Norfolk naval base on the orders of General Marshall." By the way, she wants to visit your destroyer, you can arrange it as soon as possible. ”

When Lieutenant Colonel Elman heard this, he let go of my hand and asked Henry in a businesslike tone: "Sir, is there a written order from the Chief of Staff or the Commander of the Navy?" ”

"Nope." Henry said with some embarrassment: "We also decided to come here on the impromptu stage, so we did not wait for the written authorization of the governors at all levels. ”

"I'm sorry, sir." When El Man heard Henry say this, he also said in an official tone: "I have no right to let you visit the warship without a written order from my superiors. Perhaps because he was afraid that his former superior's face would be ugly, he lowered his voice and asked, "There is no written order, and it is okay to get the verbal permission of the commander." ”

"Not either." Henry smiled bitterly and replied helplessly. (To be continued.) )