“Deep water out here?” Larry asked, pointing to a point about a mile off shore.
“Plenty deep,” March replied.
“Then I think we can do it,” Larry said. “Those ships are worth the chance, anyway. If we’re slow getting the first one, we’ll cut and run.”
“Which one first?” March asked.
“The tanker,” Larry said. “Most important. Planes can’t fly without the gas and oil it carries.”
“Not the troopship?”
“No, too many of the men will be able to swim or get ashore some way,” Larry said. “We could count on about fifty percent casualties there. But the tanker—that’ll be all gone, and maybe set fire to a few other things. Tanker first, then troopship.”
The Skipper gave orders to move the boat to the west around the reefs as March had indicated. March stood close by the soundman, who could tell at every instant just how far they were from the rocky shoals that might trap them.
Slowly the boat moved forward and then, when March gave the word, it turned and moved in toward the island.
“I hope I’m right,” March said to himself. “There’s not very much room here, though if those ships got through, we surely can.”