“That’s a pretty serious thing to say. What evidence have you?”
“Not much, I admit,” said Evans. “But do you recall that business about the British vacuum-tube transmitter? There seemed to be a peculiar discrepancy between his point of view as represented by the Admiral, and that which he himself took in the final show-down.”
“That was just a misunderstanding,” said Mortimer. “You’re too suspicious, Jim. Just get that out of your system.”
“Maybe I am. Just the same, I’d keep my eye on him if I were you.”
“That’s perfect rot,” said Mortimer. “Rich is one of the ablest and most dependable men in the service; the more I see of him the better I like him. You’d better quit suspecting him, and give him a little loyal support and coöperation yourself.”
Evans said no more; there seemed nothing more to say. He had a nasty feeling inside, and a change of subject seemed indicated.
Another project, made possible by the capture of the Azores, also engaged the attention of the Navy Department at this time. The completion of the new breakwater and harbor works at Punta Delgada had now made this an ideal base for destroyers, chasers, and other submarine-hunting craft; but even this harbor was not nearly big enough for the entire fleet of battleships and cruisers. If the fleet had to lie at anchor outside the harbor there must be some protection against attack by enemy submarines. Now, unless the place could be made safe for the entire fleet, its value as a base for anti-submarine operations was seriously impaired, for if a fleet of chasers set out from Punta Delgada to hunt in the direction of Gibraltar and no powerful ships were within call, a detachment of enemy cruisers could come out and destroy them. Destroyers supported by fast scout cruisers could sally forth in comparative safety, for their speed would enable them to retreat under the cover of the coast-defense guns if pursued by a superior force of the enemy. Submarines, too, could operate from the Azores in comparative safety, for they could hide at will. But the large flotillas of chasers now being commissioned and manned, good for only sixteen knots, would be exposed to grave danger if they operated far enough from their base to do any good.
It was at this point that the services of Heringham in Constantinople became a source of safety and strength. The combined fleet of the Allies could lie at Brest, and if at any moment, day or night, a force of enemy ships weighed anchor at Gibraltar, and started out through the strait, word of it would at once reach the Admiral at Brest, and in less than two hours the Allied fleet could be under way in search of them. This arrangement made it possible for chasers and other patrol craft, too slow to escape from enemy cruisers, to operate in waters nearer to Brest than to Gibraltar, but outside this area their helplessness in the face of attack by cruisers rendered their search for submarines unwise.
For this reason, as well as because of the strategic position of the place and the greater ease with which secrecy concerning the activities of the fleet could be maintained at such an isolated spot, it was most desirable to develop a base for the whole fleet at the Azores rather than in French or British waters. A plan was therefore developed to enclose the entire area between the islands of Saint Michael’s, Santa Maria, and Formigas, the most easterly group of the Azores, with a barrier of heavy nets reinforced with mines, and a system of detecting nets of wires which would at once reveal the approach of a submarine attempting to break through, and tell the observer at a central station on shore the very point at which the approach was made. Thus there would be a sheet of water roughly thirty miles by sixty, protected from attack by sea, with a fair anchorage for the entire fleet just south of Saint Michael’s. It was a large engineering project, but not too large for the end to be gained. This, it was estimated, would take till the late summer for completion.
In the mean time, Punta Delgada became the storm-center of all the patrolling and submarine hunting by swarms of destroyers, submarines, and seaplanes. Weather stations were established here and in all the other captured islands, manned by officers trained for this duty by Professor Jeremy, now holding the rank of commander.