"I hope to have the pleasure of being present just about that spot," I said, pointing to the chart.
"Or there," suggested Ashington.
"Either would do very nicely, so far as I can judge," said Tiel. "How many submarines can you concentrate, and how long will it take you to concentrate them?"
I considered the question.
"I am afraid there is no use in concentrating more than two or three in such narrow waters," I said. "Squadronal handling of submarines of course is impossible except on the surface. And we clearly can't keep on the surface!"
Captain Ashington looked at me in a way I did not at all like.
"We run a few risks in the British navy," he said. "D—n it, you'll have a sitting target! I'd crowd in every blank submarine the water would float if I were running this stunt!"
"You don't happen to be running it," I said coldly.
Tiel touched me lightly on the shoulder and gave me a swift smile, pleasant but admonitory.
"The happy mean seems to be suggested," he said soothingly. "There's a great deal to be said for both points of view. On the one hand you risk submarines: on the other hand you make the battle-fleet run risks. One has simply to balance those. What about half a dozen submarines?"