Other sailors formed a human chain, passing ammunition from the submarine to the guns.
One by one, the guns signaled (the gun chiefs raising a hand overhead) their readiness to open fire.
"The guns are ready to fire, Sir," the exec reported, and then added, "One hundred eighteen seconds."
"Commence firing," Commander Lennox ordered.
"Commence firing," the talker repeated.
Commander Lennox and the exec put binoculars to their eyes and trained them on the shore of Waikahalulu Bay. There were targets in place, wooden frameworks covered with canvas, fairly credible replicas of oil storage tanks.
The five-inch fired five rounds; one fell nowhere near the targets, but the other four went where they were supposed to go. Meanwhile, the 40mm and 20mm rapid-firing cannon fired continuously, the 20mm in a rapid staccato, the 40mm in a slower, more measured cadence. The targets were obscured by dust and smoke.
Commander Lennox counted the five-inch rounds. The moment he saw the muzzle flash of the fifth round, without taking his eyes from his binoculars, he ordered, "Cease fire, secure the guns, clear the decks."
The talker repeated the orders. The sailors at the guns now prepared them for submersion. The crews of the rapid-firing cannon began to pass unfired ammunition back into the hull, and then they all went below.
"Sir,"the talker said,"chiefofthe boat reports gun crews secure from firing."
"Dive! "the captain ordered.
"Dive! "the talker said.
"Dive!"
A Klaxon sounded. The exec, the talker, and finally the captain went through the hatch and secured it after them. By then, the decks were already awash.
"Take her to a hundred and fifty feet," Commander Lennox ordered.
"One fifty feet, aye," It. Rutherford repeated.
"What have we got, Helmsman?" Commander Lennox asked a minute later.
"Sir, we are steering two six five degrees...." The helmsman paused and waited until the needle on the depth gauge was where it was supposed to be, and then went on, "at one five zero feet, sir."
"Keep her so," Commander Lennox ordered, and then he stepped to the public address system again.
"This is the captain speaking," he said formally.
"For a bunch of Kansas hayseeds and Brooklyn thugs, that wasn't half bad. And the chief of the boat would have told me by now if somebody had gone over the side."
Chuckles and laughter ran through the boat.
Leaving the microphone open. Commander Lennox said, "Take her up, make turns for sixteen knots, and set us on a course for Pearl Harbor."
He let the spring-loaded microphone switch go and motioned for the chief of the boat to come to him.
"Chief," Commander Lennox said, "I would not be too upset, when you check the guns, if you were to find something that would take, say, thirty-six hours to fix" "Aye, aye, Sir," the chief of the boat said.
"And, of course, if the men aren't needed to help with the repair, there's no reason I can see why they shouldn't be given liberty."
"Aye, aye, Sir," the chief of the boat said.
"Surface, surface!
"It. Rutherford ordered.
[THREE]