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TAKE HER DOWN

Roger Stout

The submarine slid off the foreboding rocky coast of Korea. The
night was black and quiet, the sea calm with only small waves break-
ing the surface, and the stars above gave a certain tranquillity to the
scene.

Aboard the submarine a portion of the crew were topside draw-
ing in the cool freshness of the night air, as only men who live and
fight below the surface of the sea can fully enjoy it. The men talked
a bit, but for the greatest part, they stood alone or sat about the deck,
completely absorbed in thought of the night and the sea that was so
deep within them.

Looking down from the bridge where he stood, the skipper, Com-
mander Flemington, was in profound thought himself.. though of a
different nature. The last action had been a surfaced battle, minor
indeed, but costly, as he had lost one of his fellow officers,Communi-
cation Officer Lieutenant McRay. McRay had been one of the best
ever to serve under his command, and to have lost him in such a fray
hung heavily on his-mind. Replacing him was a Lieutenant Darwin
whom they had taken aboard at their last refueling station. He would
serve as the new communication officer,and Flemington's mind slipped
into thought of how this replacement would work out at sea. Dar-
win seemed to be keen of purpose, of good stature, but a bit too cocky
for being still wet behind the ears in submarine duty and combat.

"Well, time will tell," Flemington thought to himself.

A faint glow came over the horizon and the skipper, glancing at
his watch, decided their surface time was up.

"Clear the deck!" he roared out over the men. "Take her down."
The silent men sprang into movement and leaped down the for-
ward ladder, the last man dogging the conning tower hatch. The all-
clear was sounded below, as green seas slapped under the deck boards
and a burst of spray scudded into the fairwater. The submarine sank
forward below the surface.

Flemington, standing at the conn, gave the watch over to his exec-
utive officer, Lieutenant Commander Brown, and retired to his quar-
ters. Here, reclining on his bunk, he again thought of Lt. Darwin
and his mind slipped back to the years before when they had last seen
each other. Thoughts of both the past and present rushed together.

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