"How do you propose to go about it," Hallam said to Jones.
"Colonel Macdonald, or a substitute, will have to renew his airborne training and get into first class physical shape. There will also be language school to brush up on his Korean and Japanese, with some basic Russian."
"Why Japanese?"
"It was the official language in Korea until after World War Two and many of the older people can speak it. What he misses in Korean he might be able to pick up in Japanese."
"How long will this take?" Pat said.
"About six months. Then there will be a month of special preparations for the attack itself. After that we wait for the right weather and the psychologically correct moment. The idea is to delay until the last possible moment before the Reds are ready to attack us and pull the rug out from under them. We hope the confusion and loss of morale will be so great that the partisans or maquis or whatever you want to call them will be able to rise and overthrow the communist regime."
"Adding all this up," I said, "I gather you expect the special training to start in about two weeks from now."
"That's right," Colonel Jones said. "That's why we need an answer soon."
"I have one week left of my vacation before I return to Vancouver. I'll let you know then."
"Thank you. I'll leave all the necessary information with Dr. Hallam at his office." Jones got up, bent slightly in Pat's direction and again to me, while he gave us a formal handshake. He climbed over the side and got into the amphibian without a backward glance.