«Good morning, General,» Pickering said, shifted his eyes to Easterbrook and added, «Colonel,» and then met Stillwell's eyes again. «I'm sorry to hear that, sir.»
«Yesterday afternoon, Ernie and I drove Colonel Dempsey and Lieutenant Colonel Newley—now reduced to their permanent grades—to the airfield, where, in compliance with orders from the JCS, they will proceed by air to Calcutta and from Calcutta by sea to the United States for further assignment.»
Pickering said what came to his mind: «That was very gracious of you, sir.»
Stillwell gave him a strange look. «They are both fine officers, Pickering,» he said finally. «Who will now contribute to this war by commanding a WAC basic training battalion, or perhaps serving in public relations.»
This is not the time to tell him I think their relief came just in time to keep them from doing real damage.
«I think I understand how you feel, sir,» Pickering said.
This earned him another cold glance.
«And then, just before we spoke, your Lieutenant Moore delivered a Special Channel Personal to me from General Marshall.» This was delivered as a challenge. «May I infer from the look on your face, General, that you know of General Marshall's 'request'?»
«I learned about it thirty seconds before I called you, General. I got a Special Channel Personal from Colonel Donovan which told me such a message would be sent. I knew nothing about it before then.»
He reached into his pocket and handed General Stillwell Donovan's message.
«Presumably I have the appropriate security clearance to be made privy to a communication from the Director of the OSS marked 'Eyes Only General Pickering'?»
«General, so far as I am concerned, you have every right to read everything that moves over the Special Channel.»
Stillwell examined him carefully for a moment and then read the Donovan message. «May I show this to Colonel Easterbrook?»
«Please do, sir.»
Stillwell handed the message to Easterbrook, then turned to Pickering. «Okay. Is that what you wanted to see me about?»
«Yes, sir.»
«Having established that General Marshall's «request» was not your idea, you're now going to ask me for troops and other logistical support for this operation of yours, right?»
«No, sir.»
«Why not?»
«Sir, are you familiar with the Opplan proposed by Colonel Platt?»
«No.»
«I can have a copy of it here in ten minutes, sir.»
«Tell me about it,» Stillwell said with an impatient wave of his hand.
«The bottom line, sir, is that I don't agree with it.»
«The chief of staff of the United States Army, as well as your boss, apparently think it's a better plan than what you've come up with.»
«Yes, sir. And I disagree with them.»
«Briefly, what don't you like about a plan that has General Marshall's approval?»
«I've decided that sending that large a force into the Gobi—not to mention keeping it there, with the supply operation that would require—would call too much attention to the operation, General.»
»
You've
'decided,' against the recommendation of General Marshall and Colonel Donovan?»
«Yes, sir. As I interpret Colonel Donovan's message, it was a suggestion, not an order.»
«You are officially declining my offer to give you what logistical support I have been directed to provide? And 'a force of at least two companies of infantry'?»
«Yes, sir. But I may have to come back if my plan fails.»
«And your plan is what? To send a couple of your men into the Gobi in a couple of trucks to see if they can find the people that are supposed to be there? And then supply them by air?»
«Initially by air, sir. It may be possible to get everybody but the essential personnel out, and then supply them from here. The Japanese, so far as we know, have not shown any interest in the people who are already in the desert. 1 want to make every effort to keep it that way.»
«You're presuming that. For all you know, the people who were out there maybe in a japanese pow camp. or dead. either from Japanese action, or else because the bandits got to them.»
«Yes, sir, that's true. If Captain McCoy cannot make contact with them by the time his fuel runs out, he will call for the Catalinas to bring the equipment and the meteorologists to wherever he is.»
«1 have two questions about that,» Stillwell said. « 'By the time his fuel runs out'?»
«Captain McCoy has an ambulance, a weapon carrier, and two five-hundred-gallon trailers. He plans to accompany a routine Chinese Army resupply convoy into the Gobi, then strike off on his own. He believes, and i concur, that doing so will not attract much attention.»
«Question two. If the resupply by aircraft fails?»
«Then we'll have to follow the Platt Opplan, sir. By then, the extra equipment and the meteorological team will be here.»
«That suggests your man—just the two of them…«
«He plans to take four Chinese with him, sir.»
»… is not concerned with the bandits?»
«I'm sure he's very concerned, sir. But he believes he will be able to avoid them, or be able to run away from them, or, in the worst case, be able with six men to make them decide any attack on them would be too costly.»
«I can see why General Marshall and Colonel Donovan don't like your plan,» Stillwell said.
Colonel Easterbrook grunted in agreement.
«Ernie, what do you think?» Stillwell asked.
«There is no question that sending two companies of infantry into the desert would attract Japanese attention,» Easterbrook said. «And they're tenacious. They would keep looking until their curiosity was satisfied.»
«What makes you so sure the Chinese will be willing to let your Captain McCoy accompany them?»
«He plans to compensate them for their effort, sir, and he also believes that the patrol officers have probably heard more about the Americans out there than they have reported to their superiors.»
«Why wouldn't they report what they've heard, General?» Colonel Easterbrook asked.
«If they did, they would probably be ordered to investigate further,» Pickering replied.
«And your Captain McCoy plans to 'compensate' the Chinese for whatever other information they may have and have neglected to pass upward?»
«Yes, sir.»
«There is an implication in what you've said that you intend to commence this operation in the immediate future?»
«Yes, sir. McCoy is en route to Yümen right now. The Nationalist troops who go into the Gobi on patrol are stationed there.»
«That's a thousand miles,» Easterbrook said.
«He plans on making twenty-five miles an hour,» Pickering said. «That's forty hours on the road. If he can average thirty miles an hour, that's thirty-three hours.»
«That's if he gets there at all,» Stillwell said. «There's Nationalist roadblocks every fifty miles or so. I've heard some unpleasant reports from Americans sent into the hinterlands. They are stopped at roadblocks and detained until their bona fides are established. By the time that's been done, their vehicles and supplies seem to get stolen by party or parties unknown.»
«I don't think Captain McCoy will have any trouble getting past roadblocks, sir.»