Chapter 56 Chapter Fifty-Five

On New Year's Eve, out of the blue, Pug proposed to Rhoda that they go to the Army and Navy Club together.Rhoda knew he had always hated those queer paper hats, the boisterous crowd, and the drunken kisses; but, he said, he wished to have some relaxation tonight.Rhoda liked this New Year's Eve scene, so she dressed up cheerfully.She was wearing the same silver thread silk gown she had worn earlier to collect parcels for Great Britain, and as they passed through the corridor amidst a group of beaming high-ranking officers and wives, Rhoda felt that there were not many women. Matched the beauty and splendor of her attire.Harrison when Rhoda and Pug walked into the dining room.She couldn't help but feel a little awkward for a moment when Peters stood up and waved to them to sit with him.Her behavior to Peters was as white as snow, and there was nothing to complain about, but he would mention Bamu.Kirby; or, would he appear overly affectionate?

Pug took her arm, sensing her hesitation, and gave her a questioning look.She made up her mind: Don't mind it at all, just let it be made public at last! "Oh, what a coincidence! Colonel Peters is there. Let's go to him!" she said cheerfully. "He's a good man, and I met him in church. But where the hell did he get such a chorus girl? Would you please sit at her table with me to reassure me?" Peters and Pug.When Henry shook hands, he was a head and a half taller than him.His young female companion, with blond hair and full breasts, wore a long white dress that looked like a Greek blouse, revealing large patches of rose-colored skin, and was a secretary in the British Purchasing Committee.Rhoda said they knew Pamela.Tudsbury. "Oh, really? The future Lady Burner-Walker?" The girl's voice was trilling so loudly that Victor was taken aback.Henry felt a stabbing pain in his heart. "My dear Pam! You almost stunned us on the committee. Pamela used to be a rebel in our office. Been babbling at that old slave overseer! My lord used to say People work overtime, it's good now, isn't it going to be retribution?"

They passed the hour before midnight, eating the bland club meal and stale champagne, talking about dull wartime topics.Sitting at the same table, by chance, was an Army Air Corps colonel with a purplish-marine chin like a square-headed mastiff, and his slender, heavily-painted wife.This colonel has just returned from China and Burma.The Indian theater has returned, and now he keeps complaining that his theater is not taken seriously.The colonel said that half of the human race lived there, and even Lenin believed that this area was the most fertile land in the world.If it falls into the hands of the Japanese, it is better for the white people to live on another planet, because by then the earth will not tolerate them.No one in Washington seemed to understand this.

A brigadier general—whose decorations were more prominent than Peters and the colonel in the China, Burma, and India theater—was talking about the assassination of Admiral Darlan; he said he was in Algeria Used to be very familiar with him. "It's a pity what happened to the bulging eye. Darlan was called a bulging eye in our Ike staff. The guy looked like a hapless Frenchman. Of course, he was a real bloke." Pro-Nazi, but he is a realist. Besides, after we caught him, he immediately handed over a lot of supplies and saved the lives of a large number of Americans. But now this guy de Gaulle, who calls himself Joan of Arc, In fact, we get nothing from him except rhetoric and heartache. Let those leftist strategists who only talk about things on paper know this too."

In fact, Rhoda didn't need to worry about Colonel Peters at all.He hardly ever glanced at her; instead, he kept eyeing her little husband.He was silent now, his face grim and weary.Peters finally asked him his opinion on the future of the war. "Where's the battle?" Pug asked. "The whole battle situation. How does the navy see it?" "Colonel, it depends on what position you hold in the navy." "So what about your position?" The tall, handsome Army officer had nothing to say, and puzzled Pug by asking such nonsensical questions, to which he replied, "The past and the future are a mess."

"Totally agree," said Peters -- as the lights in the raucous dining room flickered a few times and then dimmed -- "this year-end summary of yours is far better than anything I've read in all the papers. Ah, ladies and gentlemen. It's five minutes to midnight. Mrs. Henry, please allow me." She was sitting next to him while he put a paper shepherdess hat on her head— His demeanor was so remarkably refined that she felt that even Pug would never pick a fight—and she slanted a gilt cardboard helmet over her pretty gray hair.Not everyone at the table wore a paper hat, but to Rhoda's surprise her husband did, too.She had never seen anything like it, except at the children's birthday parties when they were little.Victor's pink paper hat with gold trim did not make people feel funny at all, on the contrary, it made his expression more painful and sad.

Ah, Pug!look at you! " "Happy New Year, Rhoda." Guests, champagne glasses in hand, kissed each other by candlelight and sang "Good Old Days".Pug kissed his wife absently, and Peters kissed her politely as well.At this moment, his mind was only thinking about the past in 1942.He thought of what Warren said to him leaning on the cabin door of the "Northampton" with one hand on the door frame above his head: "Dad, if you are too busy to take care of me, just tell me Me:" He also thought of the officers and men lying in the hull of the sunk HMS Northampton in the black waters near Guadalcanal.Besides, he remembered with infinite sadness the necessity of asking Hopkins to do his best to rescue Natalie and her baby from Lourdes.At least she's still alive.

Harry.Hopkins' bedroom in the White House was at the end of a long, dark and gloomy corridor, just a few rooms from the Oval Office.His gray suit was baggy like a rag hanging from a scarecrow.He stood there looking out the window at the Washington Monument in the sunlight. "Hello, Pug, and happy new year." When he turned around, his bony hands were still folded behind his back.The civil official was rickety, poorly dressed, emaciated, with a sallow complexion, while Rear Admiral Carton beside him was muscular and flushed.Straight and straight, he contrasted Hopkins in a tailored blue uniform with gold bars and gold braids on his shoulders.Newspaper articles sometimes portrayed Hopkins as if he were a Dumas character.It is the mysterious Ma Jielang who often enters and exits the secret room of the president with ghosts on the mountain.But now standing in front of Pug, he looked more like an over-indulgent wanderer, his shining eyes and tired smile still showed unfulfilled lust.With a quick glance, Pug saw the sombre portrait of Lincoln, the plaque that read "Here the Emancipation Proclamation was signed"; There was a silver nightgown beside her, a pair of pink slippers on the floor, and a row of medicine bottles on the bedside table, all of which gave the room a somewhat domestic air.

"I am very grateful to you for receiving me, sir." "It's always a pleasure to meet you. Please take a seat." After Carton left, Hopkins sat on a wine-colored couch with worn arms and said to Pug: "It seems that the Pacific Ocean The Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet also needs you. You're such a celebrity, aren't you? Handsome B felt a little awkward, so he didn't say anything." I think this is what you like, right? " "Naturally I prefer to go to war." "So, what about the Soviet Union?" "Not interested, sir."

Hopkins crossed his bony legs and rubbed his long, upturned chin with one hand. "Do you remember a general named Yevlenko?" "I remember. A tall, strong man. I met him on the way to the Moscow front." "Exactly. He's the head of the Russian Lend-Lease business now. Admiral Standley thinks you can be of great help in that. Yevlenko mentioned you to Standley. And Erist .Tudsbury’s daughter. I think she went with that trip to Moscow.” "Yes, she has been." "Look, you two made a big impression on him. You know that, Pug, that report you wrote on the Moscow front last December was a big help. I'm out here alone, and I'm alone People thought the Russians could hold it. The Army's intelligence estimate was completely wrong. The President was impressed with your report, and he found your insight to be reasonable, and that's what we're missing here."

"I thought I was making a fool of myself by writing that letter about the Minsk Jews." "Not at all." Hopkins waved his hand informally, expressing disapproval of Pug's words. "To tell you the truth, Pug, the whole Jewish problem was a very painful business. The President had to stay out of the way of the rabbinic delegation all the time. The State Department tried to get in the way, but some of them did. It's a dire situation, but what can the President say to them? They just make that debilitating demand over and over again. Keep credit to the Russians, save the Jews, end this goddamn war, the only The only way is to march into France and smash that crazy Nazi system. And the key to this, my friend, is the landing craft." Hopkins leaned back on the couch, looking shrewdly at Pug. Trying to avoid the awkward subject, Pug asked, "Sir, why don't we accept more refugees?" "You mean changing the immigration laws," Hopkins replied briskly, "that's a big problem." He picked up a blue-bound book from a small table beside him and handed it to Pug.The title of the book is Jewish Politics in America. "Have you seen it?" "No, sir." Pug dropped the book with a look of disgust. "Nazi propaganda?" "Possibly. According to the FBI, the book has been in wide circulation for several years. It came in the mail, where it should have gone in the wastebasket, but instead it ended up in my hands." , Louise read it too, she was disgusted. My wife and I often get a lot of letters insulting us, using all kinds of dirty words, but most of them call us jews. It seems ridiculous, but it is really sad .Since that banquet in Balkh, the invective has reached its peak." Victor.Henry seemed bewildered. "You were abroad at the time, weren't you? Barney Balkh, to congratulate us on our wedding, organized a make-up wedding banquet for us--to tell the truth, it was ill-advised to do so. A reporter got a menu. You too One can imagine, Pug, what pomp Balkh put on! Foie gras, champagne, caviar, no expense spared. In this time of tight supplies and rationing everything, it has already caused complaints. Of course, it’s asking for trouble again. Not to mention, someone deliberately spread a rumor that Beaverbrook gave Louise a string of emerald necklaces worth half a million dollars as a wedding gift, which caused a lot of trouble in the city .My hide is as thick as a rhinoceros, but I married Louise, and I made her a target. What a terrible word!" He pointed at the book contemptuously. "Boy, if you try to pass a new immigration law, a scheming like that is going to boil over the country. We're going to lose in Congress. Of course the war effort is going to suffer. What's the good in the end? We cannot free the Germans from the clutches of the Jews," he said to Victor.Henry cast a probing glance. "Where is your daughter-in-law now?" "Sir, that is why I have come to see you." Pug told him Natalie's plight and Sloter's idea of ​​how to get her out of Lourdes.It was too much for him to ask for help, but he stammered, and Hopkins listened, pursing his thin lips.His reaction was quick and crisp: "That's to negotiate with the enemy. Only the president has the power to decide, and he will hand it over to Wells: Lourdes, right? What's the name of that guy from the State Department?" He took it out of his pocket. A small note with Leiris in pencil.Sloter's name and his phone number. "I can ask." "I'm very grateful to Mrs. Pagoda to get up and say goodbye. "Sit still. The President will call me in a moment. He has a cold and is sleeping late." Hopkins smiled, took a yellow note from his breast pocket, and spread it out. "Another string of problems for him to deal with today, just as much as usual. Want to hear about it? Number one, China's recall of its military delegation. It's a headache, Pug. Since we're in The needs of Europe, the aid they ask for is like asking for the moon. However, the Chinese front is a sore on the Japanese, they have fought longer than any of us, and we have to try to stabilize them. "Number two, a heating oil crisis in New England. Good God! The weather is against us, too, and this winter has been much colder than expected. Everyone's freezing from New Jersey to Maine. Big inch pipeline The progress of the project is half a year late. The more controls, the more troubles." While reading and discussing, he read all the items on this list. The beginning was heavy: 3. Unexpected difficulties encountered in transporting the "Lend-Lease" materials through Siberia. 4. Sudden and extreme shortage of copper. 5. According to the revised report, the outlook for rubber raw materials is not optimistic. 6. Once again, a large number of ships in the Atlantic were sunk by German submarines. 7. The German army reinforced Tunisia, and Eisenhower's troops were forced to retreat; a famine broke out in Morocco, and the supply lines of Eisenhower's troops were threatened. 8. General MacArthur calls for help again: New Guinea urgently needs reinforcements of land and air forces. 9. Modify the speech on national conditions. 10. Make plans to meet Churchill in North Africa. "That last bit is top secret, Pug." Hopkins waved the paper at Pug, rattling. "We're going to Casablanca in about a week, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and all. Stalin can't be there because of Stalingrad, but we're going to keep him informed of the meeting. We're going to lay down a strategy for the war ahead. The President has since After taking office, he has not been on a plane for nine years, not only that, but none of the previous presidents has ever taken a plane to go abroad. He is also as excited as a child." Hopkins is so eloquent and tireless, Victor.Henry was puzzled, but Hopkins soon revealed why.He bent forward and put his hands on Pug's lap. "You know, Stalin was yelling that we should cross the strait this year. It would reduce his load on ten to forty German divisions before he could drive the Germans out of Russia. He accused us of breaking our promise and not Opened a second front in 1942. But we didn't have landing craft then, and we weren't ready for anything else. The British fought hard against the idea of ​​attacking France. At Casablanca. They're sure to use the lack of landing craft again as an excuse." Pug was also attracted to them unconsciously, so he asked, "How many are there now, sir?" "Come with me." Hopkins took Henry to another small room with closed doors and windows. The room was filled with outdated old furniture, and a nondescript card table was full of files and documents. "You sit down. This is the Monroe Room, they call it, Pug. That's where he signed the Monroe Proclamation—what the hell! I was just looking at the numbers." He flipped the desk documents, some fell to the floor.Pug was amazed at how casually and casually things were done in this central place of war. Hopkins ignored the dropped papers, and instead pulled out an ordinary file card, He waved it in his hand and said, "I found it. These are the figures up to December 15th. These figures are not reliable, because the losses in North Africa have not been fully confirmed." Victor.Henry remembered very well the landing craft production plan he had brought to the Akinsha meeting, and was startled to hear the numbers Hopkins read from that card. "Mr. Hopkins, what unexpected situation did production encounter?" Hopkins dropped the card. "Damn it! We lost a year! Not just the production of landing craft, but everything else. The problem is that everyone competes for priorities. The military, industry and the civilian economy are fighting each other, and the various departments There are quarrels and quarrels between them, even some decent people are jealous of each other, fighting openly and secretly. Everyone is stuck on each other's necks. Everyone advertises that their department is the top priority of all, but no one What you say is what you say, and the delivery is due. Our place is full of important points, so the important points have become meaningless like the old German mark. The situation is simply indescribable. However, at this moment, a maintenance Keto. Henry." Pug blinked in astonishment, and Hopkins laughed. "Of course, not really talking about you. It's a person like you. This person's name is Ferdy Eberstadt. He is an unknown person, but he is very practical and capable. You must meet him. It turned out to be Stockbroker, can you believe it! Princeton graduate, Wall Street business, never government. They brought him in here to run the War Production Bureau, and he made a new priority distribution plan. He gave It is called the "Material Control Plan". According to this plan, all production plans depend on the distribution of three materials, namely steel, copper, and aluminum. The current distribution method is vertical distribution by product. Escort destroyers also Well, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a long-range bomber, or a truck that’s going to the Soviet Union. In short, no matter what, every part of it must be produced according to the ration of raw materials. Allocating a little to the factories"—Hopkins waving his long, thin arms excitedly—"depended on having a reliable outlet in Washington. It's a miracle as it is now. Production figures all over the country straight up." He paced up and down as he spoke, with a light on his thin, intelligent face.He sank down on a chair next to Henry. "Pug, you can't imagine what it was like before Eberstadt adopted this method. It's piecemeal! The waste is so serious that the gods would be afraid to see it! A thousand tank tracks, but no tanks to assemble !A whole football field of plane shells is piled up, but the engines and controls are not being produced at all. A thousand infantry landing craft are parked in the shipyard rotting and rusting, so that there is no winch to take off and land. This terrible situation finally It's over, and now we can finally get the landing craft we need, but the navy also needs someone to cooperate closely. This means that it needs a person like Foddy Eberstadt who is as good as the coordinator. I have already worked with Fu Secretary Lester spoke to Vice Admiral Patterson. They all know your performance and agree that you will be responsible." Hopkins leaned back in his chair, his glasses hanging from his mouth, his eyes twinkling. "Well, old friend? Would you like to sign an appointment?" The phone on the card table rang. "Yes, Mr. President. In a moment. Pug. Henry happens to be here too... yes, sir, of course." He hung up. "Pug, the President sends his regards." They stepped out of the room, down a dark hallway lined with bookshelves, and up a rubber ramp toward the Oval Office.Hopkins held Pug's elbow with one hand. "How? Shall I tell the President that you have agreed to accept this job? There are many naval captains who can serve as staff officers for the Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, and you know that. But there is only one Pug who is proficient in landing craft. Henry .” Victor.Henry had never defied Hopkins' wishes before.The seal of the president is in the hands of this person.However, he is not the commander-in-chief after all, otherwise he would not be so sweet-talking, coaxing and deceiving, but directly issued orders.Although he holds great power, he is a subordinate after all. The reason why he is so amiable, telling Pug some inside information, praising Eberstadt so much, and now being intimate and holding his arm, is actually the same. A strategic maneuver.In fact, Hopkins had already made up his mind to send Pug to get the landing craft, and he came to ask for help for Natalie, which just gave him a chance to speak.Maybe that's how he's been persuading all along.He did it very skillfully, Victor.Henry still insisted on serving under the commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet.Hopkins flirtatiously dismissed the job as worthless, but that was civil servant insight.Besides, there are plenty of suitable candidates who can be in charge of the landing craft program. They passed the Oval Office to the open door of the president's bedroom.The president's sonorous voice is a bit hoarse today.Hear Franklin.Roosevelt's voice made Pug feel a sense of kindness and awe. "Mr. Hopkins, this matter may be related to how I will serve in this war in the future. Please allow me to discuss it with the Ship Bureau." Harry.Hopkins smiled. "Good. As far as I know, they all agree." The President happened to be holding his nose against a large white handkerchief as they entered the bedroom.The president's doctor, Commodore McIntyre, stood by the bed in full uniform.He and several elderly civilian officials in the room said in unison: "God bless you." Pug knew none of these civil servants.They all stared at him smugly, and McIntyre, whom he had known from San Diego, gave him a slight nod.Wiping his reddened nose, the President raised his sticky eyes and glanced at him.He was sitting on the bed with some cushions behind him, and over his crumpled wide-striped pajamas was a royal blue cape with the three letters of FDR embroidered in red.He picked up the pince-nez from the breakfast box and said, "Ah, Pug, how are you? How are you and Rhoda doing for the new year?" "Very well, thank you, Mr. President." "That's great. What were you and Harry up to? Where are you going next?" This is a polite way to ask casually.The others in the room looked at Henry, and they all interrupted him as if he was not serious, as if it was Roosevelt's little grandson who broke in casually.The president, with red eyes and an obvious cold, was nonetheless in high spirits and ready to start his day. Trapped Hopkins for fear of speaking before him, Victor.Henry said first: "I'm not sure yet, Mr. President. Admiral Nimitz asked me to be the Deputy Chief of War." "Oh, that's it!" The president raised two thick eyebrows at Hopkins.He was apparently hearing about it for the first time.A look of annoyance flitted across Hopkins' face. "Well, I see, you're going there then. I can't blame you, of course. Everybody picks the best." Roosevelt rubbed his eyes with two fingers, then put on his glasses.His appearance changed completely, he looked much younger and more dignified, more like the familiar president in the newspaper photos, instead of an old man with disheveled gray hair lying in bed with a cold.Obviously, he's on Victor.Henry has nothing to say, but is ready to do his business in the morning.He turned his face to the others. In the end it was Pug who took the initiative, brought up the matter again, and said a phrase that had often haunted his mind.A naval officer is eager to be promoted in a war, although his mind is narrow, it is also human.But Pug was irritated by the president's resignation, slightly disappointed.Then he said: "But, Mr. President, I will always obey your orders." Roosevelt turned to him with a pleasant, pleasant smile. "Ah, Pug, the thing is, Standley did feel that you would be of great use to him in Moscow. Just yesterday I had another telegram from him requesting to send you. He's got his hands full there. ’” The president lifted his chin and leaned forward slightly.There was another sense of awe as he sat up straight under the cloak. "You know, Pug, we're fighting a massive war like nothing we've ever had before. The Russians are tough allies, God knows, sometimes it's just impossible to deal with them, But they have three and a half million German troops at their fingertips, and if they can hold out, then we can win the war, and if for whatever reason they can't, then we can lose. So, if you If you can make a difference in Russia—and my envoys there seem to be convinced of that—then I fear you should go there anyway.” The rest of the room turned to Victor with curiosity.Henry turned his face, but he hardly felt their presence at all.Before him there was only the sullen face of Roosevelt; a face he had seen before, very handsome, when he was undersecretary of the Navy, climbing up the gangway of a destroyer like a child. Climb down; and now, this face--the face of a decayed old man with a crippled lower body--is the symbol of America. "Yes, yes, sir. Then, I will go to the Personnel Bureau at once to take orders." There was a gleam of joy in the president's eyes.From under his cloak he stretched out a long arm, and tossed it up in a manly gesture of gratitude and appreciation.This is Victor.Henry's full compensation.In later years, whenever he recalled this scene, he was satisfied.As they shook hands, Pug felt a surge of admiration for President Roosevelt.He tasted the slightly poignant satisfaction of self-sacrifice, the pride of being worthy of the Commander-in-Chief's trust. "Good luck, Pug." "Thank you, Mr. President." Franklin.Roosevelt smiled and nodded kindly.Victor.Henry walked out of the bedroom, his path for the years to come changed direction and was set.Hopkins stood near the door and said dryly, "Goodbye, Pug." His eyes narrowed, and his smile was cold. When her husband stepped into the sitting room, Rhoda jumped up and asked, "Well? What's the verdict?" He told her.Seeing her face darken, Pug's heart skipped a beat, and there was a flash of love for her in the past, but it also told him that there was not much left of this love now. "Oh, my dear, I've been looking forward to staying in Washington. Did you mean to--go to Moscow again?" "The president asked me to go." "A visit is a year. Maybe two years." "It has to be a long time." She took his hand, twisting her fingers with his. "Ah, yes. We've had a wonderful fortnight after all. When are you going?" "The truth is, Ro"—Pug looked embarrassed—"the Personnel Bureau managed to get me a seat on the Clipper that leaves tomorrow." "tomorrow!" "Dakar, Cairo, Tehran, Moscow. Standley does seem to need me there." At dinner they drank the best wine in the house, and then lost themselves in the memory of the past--how many times they had been separated and reunited, all the way back to the night Pug proposed to her.Rhoda smiled. "Nobody can say you didn't warn me! In fact, Pug, you've said over and over again how miserable it would be to be a naval officer's wife. Frequent partings, poor salary, and after a while, If you want to move, you have to kowtow to those high officials and wives, you told everything. I dare to swear, I thought you were trying to persuade me not to marry you. At that time, I thought to myself: " Never mind, sir!It turns out that since you proposed it on your own initiative, now you are hooked. " "I thought you must be prepared." "I've never regretted it." Rhoda sighed and took a sip of his wine. "It's a pity you won't be able to touch Byron. That convoy of theirs could be here any minute." "I know. I'm not happy either." They both felt relaxed, and Rhoda was very womanly; besides, they were about to say goodbye, so after all she couldn't help adding nonchalantly: "You won't meet Pamela either. Tudsbury." He looked directly into her eyes.The topics that the two had been keeping secret all along suddenly came to the table at this moment—his and Pamela's love and affection, her and Bamu's.Kirby's Merry Good Thing.Kirby's name is the same as Warren's name, and he hasn't mentioned it yet. "Yes. I can't touch Pamela." A few long seconds passed.Rhoda's eyes drooped. "Well, I made an apple pie, can you have some?" "Excellent. I won't be able to eat when I get to Moscow." They go to bed early.The bedtime love between the two was unnatural and brief, and immediately afterward Pug fell asleep soundly.Rhoda smoked a cigarette, then got out of bed, put on a thick robe, and went downstairs to the sitting room.She pulled a dusty record set from a low shelf.The records were worn and thinly cracked, and the orange labels were faded and scratched with colored pencils.Because this set fell into the hands of children, they played it too many times, and it has become a waste film.The old method of recording was high-pitched and tinny, but now the sound from the worn surface is weak and soft, which sounds like a world away. It's three o'clock in the morning and we're dancing all night long Dawn is coming soon I'm going to waltz with you again...   She thought back to the officers' club in Anapolis.Ensign Pug.Henry, the star of the Navy football team, takes her to a big ball.He is much shorter than her, but he is sweet and gentle, somewhat different, and loves her passionately, every word and every look in his eyes reveals this passionate love.Although not handsome, but full of masculinity, and gentle personality, promising future.In a word, it is irresistible. That piece of music is so charming It seems like it was written just for us I'm going to dance forever Blind and loving old-fashioned jazz band sounds thin and old-fashioned, the record will run out in a while!The needle idling round and round and round and round, Rhoda sat there, staring dryly at the gramophone.