Project Gutenberg's Dave Dawson on Guadalcanal, by Robert Sydney Bowen This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Dave Dawson on Guadalcanal Author: Robert Sydney Bowen Release Date: May 26, 2010 [EBook #32542] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAVE DAWSON ON GUADALCANAL *** Produced by Greg Weeks, Roger L. Holda, Joseph R. Hauser and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Dust Jacket Cover DAVE DAWSON ON GUADALCANAL BOOKS BY R. SIDNEY BOWEN Dave Dawson at Dunkirk Dave Dawson with the R. A. F. Dave Dawson in Libya Dave Dawson on Convoy Patrol Dave Dawson at Singapore Dave Dawson with the Pacific Fleet Dave Dawson with the Air Corps Dave Dawson on the Russian Front Dave Dawson Flight Lieutenant Dave Dawson with the Commandos Dave Dawson with the Flying Tigers DAVE DAWSON ON GUADALCANAL by R. SIDNEY BOWEN THE WAR ADVENTURE SERIES THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY AKRON, OHIO * NEW YORK COPYRIGHT, 1943, BY CROWN PUBLISHERS PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOR DICK BOWEN CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I CANCELED ORDERS 13 II ACES DON'T MISS 22 III FLIGHT TO NOWHERE 36 IV ACTION BOUND 47 V INSTRUCTIONS FOR EAGLES 59 VI BLIND EYES 71 VII DISCOVERED? 83 VIII EAGLE'S EYES 95 IX FATE IS FICKLE 103 X STEEL SHARKS 115 XI GIVE AND TAKE 128 XII HELPLESS HEROES 141 XIII HAYWIRE NERVES 155 XIV DEVIL EYES 167 XV MISSING IN ACTION 181 XVI LUCK OF THE DOOMED 190 XVII SATAN LAUGHS 200 XVIII DEAD WINGS 213 XIX FLIGHT'S END 229 CHAPTER ONE Canceled Orders Stretching out as comfortably as the gear-packed bomb compartment of the Flying Fortress would permit, Dave Dawson lazily unwrapped a bar of semi-sweet chocolate, and bit off a man-sized hunk. "Ub glub dish blub ice," he grunted, and winked at Freddy Farmer, who was sitting on a packing case of spare parts a few feet from him. "Deferenally jice!" The English-born air ace gave him a cold stare and a scowl. "Don't talk with your mouth full, little boy!" he said. "In fact, don't talk at all." "And that from a guy I've often seen eat peas off a knife," Dawson chuckled after he had swallowed. "But, as I was saying, this is my idea of something nice. Definitely nice." "You think so?" Freddy snorted, and glanced out the port at the broad expanse of sun-flooded Indian Ocean beneath the wings of the B-17. "What's nice about it, I'd like to know? Nothing but water down there. And more water!" [Pg 13] [Pg 14] "So what are you kicking about, Pal?" Dave shot at him. "You're only seeing the top of it, you know. But I meant it's nice to be air chauffeured around once in a while. Just sit back and relax and enjoy yourself, while some other guy does all the work." "I always suspected that you were born lazy," Freddy said. "And every day in every way I'm becoming more and more convinced. I wouldn't relax too much, old thing, if I were you. In case you don't remember, there is still a world war going on. And particularly in this part of the world. Just over there a couple of hundred miles or so are some islands called the Dutch East Indies. Right now a mess of slant-eyed devils are in control. And they have quite a few airplanes, too, for another thing." "Meaning?" Dawson grunted and frowned. "Meaning that we're expected to do something in return for this hitch hike hop from India to Australia," the English youth explained. "In other words, we are expected, like everybody else aboard, to keep an eye out for possible approaching enemy planes." "Do tell, do tell!" Dawson murmured, and pushed himself up to a half sitting position. Turning his head slightly, he took a long look out the port nearest him. Then presently he shook his head, relaxed and slumped back to his original position. "Nope," he grinned at Freddy. "No enemy planes approaching, sir. Now what?" Freddy made sounds in his throat and stabbed a finger at the bomb bay doors. "You could step down through there, and neglect to take your parachute along!" he snapped. "You know something, Dave? I'm just a little worried about you." "Good!" Dawson chuckled, and bit off another hunk of chocolate. "Worrying about me will keep you out of trouble, and that will be fine. But, seriously, what's on your mind, my good fellow? You do have a mind, don't you?" "I have a mind to toss you overboard, and not even mention it to the others!" Freddy came right back. "But seriously speaking, too, I really am worried about you. You've lost your pep and you're going stale. And—" "Hey, what gives?" Dawson cried, and sat up straight. "Just stick a Jap Zero out there, sweetheart, and I'll show you who's going stale. Where do you get that stuff, anyway?" "Oh, I don't mean that," Freddy said with a faint gesture. "I imagine you could shoot down a Zero—if the pilot would keep it still long enough. No, I mean about your pep, your—well, your disinterest, Dave. Once you used to be all keyed up about what was going to happen next. But now...? Well, you just seem to slide along from day to day. Sort of take things as they come." "So?" Dawson mumbled, and munched on his chocolate. "See what I mean?" Freddy cried angrily. "No interest at all in what's going to happen next. Take this flight we're making right now. A couple of weeks ago we were pulled out of China to India. And now we're on our way to Australia. And, from there to where, or what? You haven't said a word about that. Yet once you used to comb your brain for the answers. Nowadays, though, you don't appear to give such things so much as a thought. Are you getting war weary, Dave, or just naturally slipping." Dawson didn't say anything for a while. He finished his chocolate and licked his fingers in frowning silence. "Well, I'll tell you, pal," he finally spoke. "Maybe it's because I'm getting old. And so are you, only you won't admit it. Yet maybe that's not right, either. I think it's because I'm all washed up with guessing, and never guessing right. I mean about jobs for us to do. Think back over our war experiences, Freddy. Think back and just name one time when we got orders to report some place that we knew why, and what it was all about. Go ahead. Think hard, and try and come up with one example. Just try, brother; just try!" Freddy Farmer concentrated hard for a moment or two, and then finally shook his head. "No, I'm afraid I can't think of a single time," he said. "But—" "Nuts to the buts!" Dawson snapped. "That's the idea, see? Here today, and some place else tomorrow. And nobody ever tells us. So why get all steamed up wondering and guessing? I'm just tired of doing it, see? So I skip the wondering and guessing, nowadays." Freddy Farmer stared at him and then grunted and dragged down one corner of his mouth. "And if you'll pardon the Yank expression, my dear sir," he said, "you are what is known as a cockeyed liar. And you know it! You mean to tell me you're not wondering why we've been ordered to Australia? Don't be coy, old thing! You're just trying to put off an act!" "It's put on an act, dummy!" Dave growled at him. "Okay, I have wondered a little. So what? At least I'm not filling the breeze with a lot of questions out loud. I'll just take what comes, and let it go at that. Only I hope it's some action. And [Pg 15] [Pg 16] [Pg 17] [Pg 18] I do mean real action!" "And I've a fancy that's just what you're going to get!" the English-born air ace spoke up. "I was talking with a chap in Calcutta, just before we left. He has a friend attached to Far East H.Q., and he hinted that the Japs have assembled a thundering big naval and air force in the Southeastern Pacific. And an all out attack is to be made on Australia 'most any day now." "Nuts!" Dawson snorted. "After all these years, and you fall for that kind of rumor stuff. You should know better, Freddy!" "Oh, you think so?" the English youth flared up. "I suppose you've got the real inside information straight from General MacArthur?" "No," Dawson replied with a straight face. "But I met a chap in Calcutta, too. A Yank infantry lieutenant. He has a girl who goes around with a fellow who has an uncle who had dinner in Washington with the close friend of a Senator. And what do you think that Senator said had been decided?" Freddy Farmer hesitated, but couldn't stop himself. "What did he say?" he asked. "That the U.S. has made a deal with Japan about the Pacific!" Dave came back instantly. "We're going to take half, and the Japs are going to take half. We're—Hey! What's wrong, Freddy?" The last was because the English youth had suddenly wrapped his arms about his middle, and was swaying back and forth with an expression of agonizing pain on his face. He suddenly stopped and gave a sad shake of his head. "You!" he groaned. "Good grief! Why did it have to be you, my very best friend? And I swore by all that's holy that I'd do it, too!" "Say, what is this?" Dawson demanded, and leaned forward. "What in thunder are you raving about, anyway? Swore you'd do what?" "Swore I'd shoot the very next blighter who pulled that old, old one about the U.S. taking the top half of the Pacific, and the Japs the bottom half!" Freddy groaned. "So be a good chap, and hand me your gun, will you?" "I'll hand you more than a gun!" Dave growled. "You bum! You had the pants scared off me there for a moment. I—" Dave cut off the rest short as Captain Banks, of the Army Air Transport Command, and pilot of the Flying Fortress, came through the door from up forward. He held a slip of paper in his hand, and he gave Dawson and Farmer a quizzical look. "Big shots I've got aboard, huh?" he said with a grin. "Maybe personal friends of MacArthur?" "Not that I know of, anyway, Skipper," Dave replied with a grin. "Why? Is that thing in your hand news for us? If it's bad news, then we bailed out about ten minutes ago." "Good or bad, I wouldn't know," the Flying Fortress' commander said with a shrug. "It's a radio from MacArthur's Headquarters. We're to land at Broome. There you two are to grab a plane and hike straight over to H.Q. in Sydney, and report." "But I thought you were taking us to Darwin?" Freddy Farmer spoke up. "We were, but orders are canceled," Banks replied. "The big boys seem to want you two to get to H.Q. in a hurry. You wouldn't have any idea, I suppose, huh? Us Air Transport slaves don't get very close to the fighting very often. Kind of a lonely life, if you get what I mean? Take this ferry hop, for example. We're armed, of course, and there are Jap air bases within range to give us some action. But will we run into anything like that? No such luck. So we bear up the best we can, and make a hobby of collecting gossip. So if you two know any—" And that's as far as the Flying Fortress commander got. At that moment there came the bank and snap of the aft turret guns. And a split second later the excited cry carried through the ship. "Enemy aircraft off to port! A half dozen of them. Zeros!" "My gosh, what do you know?" Captain Banks gasped, and stared wide-eyed at Dawson. "You shouldn't have talked so loud, Skipper!" Dave laughed, and sprang to his feet. "Tojo heard you that time, and is obliging!" CHAPTER TWO [Pg 19] [Pg 20] [Pg 21] [Pg 22] Aces Don't Miss Maybe Tojo wasn't obliging the Flying Fortress' commander, but six Jap Zero pilots most certainly were. As Dawson leaped to a pair of waist guns and peered to port, he saw the six Zeros prop-piling down like six bullet-spitting maniacs. Steadying himself, he trained his guns on the leading plane and fired. His tracers streaked out and seemed to be cutting the Zero's left wing in two, but the Jap craft continued to come boiling in at the big four-engined bomber. Lumps of lead began to bounce and jounce around in Dawson's stomach. The pilot of that leading Zero seemed to be bullet-proof. He also seemed to have but one thought in his head: to keep right on thundering down and ram the Flying Fortress in midair. But cold fear was Dawson's for only a brief instant. He corrected his aim and let fly again with his guns. This time the Zero was out of luck. It took the full fury of Dawson's fire, seemed to stagger in the air for a moment before it blew up in a cloud of orange flame and smoke, and went showering down out of sight. "One for our side!" Dawson shouted happily. "Now—!" The chattering yammer of Freddy Farmer's guns in the slot above him cut off the rest of Dawson's words. And in practically the same instant a second Zero spouted black smoke, and then nosed over to go hurtling straight downward, tracing its path of doom straight to the surface of the Indian Ocean. "My error!" Dawson bellowed. "I meant, two for our side. Nice going, Freddy!" Of course the English-born air ace didn't hear him, because all of the Fortress's guns were hammering death and destruction into the four remaining Zeros. In less time than it takes to tell about it, there were only two Zeros left. Then only one. And then, as Dawson got off a perfect deflection burst, there weren't any Zeros left in that section of the sky. "And that's that!" Dave panted as he searched the sun-tinted air. "Six for six. Not bad. It was almost fun while it lasted. It—well, strike me pink, as Freddy would say!" He had happened to glance down at his shirt to see that his silver Air Forces pilot's wings were not pinned in place above the left pocket flap. His decoration ribbons were there, but no wings. Where they had been was a nice clean tear in the material. Pop-eyed, he stared at the tear, and then impulsively looked down at the compartment floor boards. And there they were. His wings. But not as he'd ever seen them before. In a few words, they looked as if they had been run over by an express train. Or better still, as if they'd been accidentally dropped into a meat grinder. They were twisted all out of shape, and there was a deep smooth groove right across the middle from one wingtip to the other wingtip. And as Dave stared at them, and leaned over to pick them up, a twitch of pain passed across his upper left chest. "And I didn't even feel that Jap bullet!" he gulped, and fingered the bullet-creased wings. "But, boy, that—that was too darn close!" "What was too close, Dave?" Freddy Farmer's voice spoke at his elbow. Dawson held out the bullet-creased wings for Freddy to see. "One of those birds was a sharp shooter," he said with a mirthless chuckle. "Only not quite sharp enough, thank my lucky stars. Kind of close, huh?" Freddy Farmer's eyes widened, and for a moment all he could do was stare at the damaged wings and then at the torn space on Dave's shirt where they had been. "Good grief, I can hardly believe it!" he finally gasped. "It's—it's a miracle, Dave. You should be dead, by rights, you know." "Thanks, I like it better this way," Dawson replied grimly, and dropped the wings into his pocket. "If I believed in signs I'd take this to mean that it was only the beginning of something. And now that I come to think of it, I wonder if it is." "Rubbish!" Freddy Farmer snorted. "It's a sign, all right. But it's a sign of how blasted lucky you always are!" "Sure!" Dawson growled. "Also a sign that I've got to fork out dough for a new pair, and—No, by gosh, I won't! The pin on these is okay. So darned if I won't wear them for continued luck. I'll—" He cut off the rest as Captain Banks came hurrying into the compartment. The worry on the bomber commander's face faded away as soon as he laid eyes on the pair. "You two okay, eh, thank God!" he grunted. "Well, then I can bawl you out. What was the big idea, anyway? Didn't you stop to remember that there're eight other guys on this sky wagon?" "Huh, Skipper?" Dawson echoed. "Come again?" "Six nice juicy Zeros!" Captain Banks said with tears in his voice. "Six of them! And what happens? You birds nail four of them between you. It ain't right. There should be a law against birds like you cheating us war-starved ferry crews out of a look at the war. Kidding aside, though, fellows, thanks, and how! Those Zero rats don't waste much time giving [Pg 23] [Pg 24] [Pg 25] [Pg 26] you the works, do they? And my heart was choking me when I thought that one of them was going to ram us. Wonder I didn't put this old baby in a power spin. I—Hey! What happened to your wings, Dawson? You been teething on them?" "They dropped off, and Farmer stepped on them before I could pick them up," Dawson grinned. "Look at his big feet, if you don't believe me. But, speaking of other things, Skipper, how long before we get in?" The Fortress commander glanced at his wrist watch, and pursed his lips. "Twenty minutes," he said. "Unless we run into more Zeros. And I hope we do. But hey! Those jobs were pretty far out to sea, now that I come to think of it." "Too far," Dave told him quietly. "My guess is that they were carrier-based. This is your usual ferry course from India to Australia, isn't it?" "Check, and I get your thought," the pilot nodded as his face became grave. "You think maybe the Japs have sent out a carrier force to cut a hole in our air supply route, huh?" "Could be," Dawson shrugged. "I wouldn't want to bet against it, anyway. And—well, skip it." "No," the other said. "Go on and say the rest of it." "Well, if I were flying this job," Dawson replied with a half grin, "I think that right now I'd give those four Wright Cyclones you've got a chance to show what they can do. But, after all, I'm strictly a safety first guy, Skipper." "That makes two of us," Banks said quickly. "Anyway, my job is to get these babies to Australia for other guys to use, so I'll just stick to my knitting, I reckon. Okay, fellows, hang onto your hats. I'm going to cut that twenty minutes to fifteen, at least. And again, thanks for that job on those Zeros." The Flying Fortress commander not only called the turn, but made good. Just ten minutes later the west coast of Australia was sighted. And five minutes after that the big four-engined job, being ferried out to the South Pacific to play its part in the war, was tooled down to an expert landing on the Air Forces constructed field on the outskirts of the city of Broome. Dave and Freddy gathered up their small and compact kit bags and climbed out with the rest of the crew onto the ground. There they intended to bid goodbye to the others, but before either one of them could open his mouth a jeep streaked out from the hangar line and a staff major popped out of it like a pea out of a split pod. "Captains Dawson and Farmer?" he barked, and looked hard at Dave. "I'm Dawson, sir," Dave replied with a nod. "And this is Captain Farmer." "Very good!" the senior officer snapped. "Come along, then. Get into the car quickly! Your plane is waiting. Maps and weather charts are in the pits. Come on; snap it up!" A flash of resentment passed through Dawson. The major was a ground officer. He wore no wings on his tunic, nor any decoration ribbons, either. As a matter of fact, he looked to Dave like one of those well known forty-eight-hour soldiers. In other words, a man who gets a commission while en route to Washington, and comes back wearing his brand-new tailor-made uniform. "Something up, Major?" Dave asked quietly. "What's all the rush about?" "What would you suppose?" the major came right back angrily. "There happens to be a war on. Also, lots of things to do. H.Q. has ordered for you to report in a hurry, and that's what you're to do. Now, let's get going, you two!" Dave knew that he was letting his anger get the better of him, but he couldn't help himself. This staff major was the type of officer that always gave him a pain in the neck. He'd met up with more than one during his war career. Put an officer's insignia on their shoulder straps and they went sky high with importance. And the higher the rank they held, the higher went their belief in their own importance. Maybe that was okay around training camps or induction centers. But that sort of thing didn't go with shot and shell-seasoned veterans. So naturally it didn't go with Dave. "Just a minute, Major," he said. "I think first I should report the engagement." "What's that?" the other gasped, rising to the bait. "Did you say engagement?" "That's right, Major," Dawson assured him. "Half a dozen Zeros attacked us about ninety miles off shore. We got them all, but they must have been carrier-based. I heard a report that there is a huge Jap attack force heading for this coast. Of course, it may be only a rumor, but—" "Heading for here?" the Major gulped, and his face tightened. "Are you sure?" Dave shrugged and gestured with a hand. "Well, I didn't actually see them, Major," he replied truthfully. "But the Japs have pulled a lot of fast ones in this war. You never can tell, you know." "No, you never can, that's right," the other said, and glanced nervously toward the west. "Well, your plane is waiting. I'll [Pg 27] [Pg 28] [Pg 29] [Pg 30] run you over, and make the report myself to the commanding officer. A huge Jap attack force, eh?" Dawson didn't say anything. He simply nudged Freddy Farmer's arm, and the pair stepped into the jeep. The major stalled the engine twice before he got the jeep going. And then he made a dash down along the edge of the field as though Jap troops were actually rushing up from the other side. He braked to a screaming halt in front of the field office, waved a hand at a waiting plane some fifty yards farther on, and then leaped out and dashed inside. "Good grief, the blighter is in a hurry, isn't he?" Freddy Farmer breathed as they walked over toward the plane, a Wright-powered Vultee attack bomber. "But why did you fill him with all that junk about a huge Jap attack force?" "Well, you said you heard on good authority that there was one, didn't you?" Dawson chuckled. "And, I just don't like efficient stuffed shirts like him. I like to see them get their whiskers burned. Anyway, I'm hoping that the C.O. of this field is the kind of a bird who'll do it. We'll know when Major Importance comes out. Well, anyway, we've got a nice job to fly. And we should see quite a bit of this down-under continent by the time we hit Sydney." "You take the scenery," Freddy Farmer grunted, and stowed his kit in the Vultee's pit. "I'll take Sydney as fast as I can get it. Lord, Dave! Do you suppose General MacArthur himself wants to see us?" "Nope," Dawson replied instantly, and tossed his kit aboard. "If the orders had read for me to report alone, I'd say probably. But we are both to report, so meeting the general is definitely out, if you get what I mean?" Freddy Farmer glared and stuck out his tongue. "Too bad you were wearing those wings at the wrong time!" he snapped. "But pardon me, old thing, for stirring that brain of yours. You aren't wondering about the future any more, are you? Well, let's get on with it. Half a moment, though. As I recall, it's my turn to pilot. So get into the gunner's seat, young man. Up with you!" Dave shook his head, and grinned. "Let me sky-steer her this time, as a favor, Freddy," he pleaded. Then, as he looked past Farmer toward the field office, he added quickly, "There isn't time to explain, but be a good guy and let me take her off. I'll remember you in my will, if you do." The English youth started to shake his head, but something he saw in Dawson's face suddenly caused him to change his mind. He let out a resigned sigh, and shrugged. "Right you are, then," he grunted. "But I think I'm a fool to let you. You're up to something!" "Me?" Dave murmured innocently, and strapped on his parachute pack. "Perish the thought, sweetheart. I just like to pilot. Oh-oh! Somebody got choked off plenty, but is trying not to show it!" That somebody was the staff major. He came over to the plane very flushed in the face, and with an ugly look in his eye. "You reported that rumor to the commanding officer, sir?" Dave asked politely. "I did!" the other snapped, and let it go at that. Then, suddenly pointing a stiff finger at Dawson, he barked, "And just what do you call that, Captain?" Dave didn't catch the meaning of the question for a couple of seconds. He was enjoying the mental picture of this band box officer rushing into a hard bitten C.O.'s office with a scare rumor that a huge Jap attack force was less than a hundred miles off the Australian coast. And of how he came out with his ears burning from the officer's words about what he could do with his crazy and utterly impossible tale! And then Dave realized that the Major was stabbing a finger at his bullet-smacked wings. "Why, they're my pilot's wings, sir," he replied. "They met with a little accident." "And they certainly look it!" the Major rasped. "A fine thing to wear on a Government uniform! A lot of you young officers certainly need to be taught a bit more respect for your uniforms, and the insignia you wear. I'd advise you to obtain a new pair before you report to H.Q. in Sydney. Now, go ahead and take off! You're late enough as it is! Get going!" "Yes, sir, very good, sir," Dave said as meekly as he could, and climbed into the pilot's pit with anger seething in his soul. The engine had already been warmed up, and it was now just idling over. Strapping himself in, Dave looked back to get the nod from Freddy, and to snap a quick glance at the major. The senior officer was standing a few feet off the right wing tip in the perfect attitude of an old crank waiting to make sure that a couple of trespassing kids got off the property. Turning front, Dave smothered a grin and released the wheel brakes, and inched open the throttle enough to get the Vultee rolling forward. Then when the tail came abreast of the major, Dave opened up the throttle wide and tapped the left wheel brake just enough to swing the tail over to the right. Then he banged the throttle the rest of the way open and took off in a hurry. As he cleared the ground, he looked back and hooted. The major was flat on his back in a cloud of dust, with his feet straight up in the air. And his officer's cap was spinning along the edge of the field [Pg 31] [Pg 32] [Pg 33] [Pg 34] like a runaway spare wheel. "Oops, so sorry, Big Shot!" Dawson shouted. "Darned if I didn't forget you were there. Better go wash your neck. The Army must always look clean and tidy, you know, Major. So long, chump!" "And the Military Police will probably be waiting for you, old thing, at Sydney!" Freddy Farmer sang out between spells of laughter. "There's such a thing as radio, you know." "And that'll be okay, too!" Dave chuckled. "They can bring me back here, so's I can do it all over again. Make cracks about my wings, huh? Too had he wasn't a captain, or I wasn't a major, too. I think I would enjoy very much pasting that make-believe in the nose. Well, here we go again. On again, off again—as usual!" CHAPTER THREE Flight To Nowhere The sun was sliding down over the western lip of the world in a hurry when Dawson sat the Vultee down on the Sydney field after a trans-Australia flight from Broome. As soon as they taxied into the line and mechanics took over, a sergeant of the Military Police came hurrying over to them. For just a brief moment Dave's heart floated up to the region of his throat. It was just a wasted sensation, however. The M.P. was simply doing his duty of informing all pilots landing from other bases to report first to the operations office. Dave and Freddy legged out, collected their stuff, and went over to operations. They were obviously expected, for the officer on duty greeted them with a grin and a nod, and jerked a thumb at the motor transport building next door. "A car and driver are waiting, Captains," he said pleasantly. "Over there in front. He'll take you to Headquarters at once. Have a nice trip out?" "It wasn't too bad," Dave replied. Then, after a moment's hesitation, he added, "I suppose I'd be shot if I asked questions?" The operations officer chuckled and shook his head. "No," he said, "you wouldn't be shot. But you wouldn't get any answers, either. Because I don't know any. I can tell you this much, though, if it will help any. You two are the umpty-umph pilots since yesterday morning who have checked through here in a hurry to get to Headquarters. Looks like something big is in the wind, but I wouldn't know. Nobody tells us guys anything, anyway. Good luck, just the same, and—Well, for the love of Mike, Dawson! Did some sweet young thing in China try to steal your wings with her teeth? Man, those are chewed up, what I mean!" "No, Zero teeth, if you get what I mean," Dave grinned. "I'm a lucky guy, I guess." The operation officer's eyes widened, and he let out air slowly. "Did, huh?" he breathed. "Luck, and how, what I mean! Man, what I wouldn't give for a war souvenir like that! You're the second chap I've met whose life was saved by a bullet ricocheting off his wings. I know one fellow, too, who got saved by his cigarette case. No fooling, Dawson, you've really got something there. Well, anyway, scram along, kids, and a million in luck!" "Same to you, and in bunches, soldier," Dave grinned, and went outside with Farmer. "See what I mean, Freddy?" he said as they walked toward the motor transport building. "There's nice guys, and otherwise, in every man's army. You never can tell a fellow by the rank insignia on his shoulders." "Quite, oh quite," the English-born air ace murmured absently. "But I'm wondering why so many pilots have been ordered to Headquarters. I wonder." Dawson shrugged and headed toward a war-painted staff car with a corporal driver lounging against a front fender. "Search me," he said. "Could be that they have decided to wash out the Army Air Forces, and make ditch diggers of us all. Not a bad idea, after the flying I've seen some guys do." "Yes, definitely," Freddy Farmer replied instantly. "But how the deuce do you manage it, Dave? I should think the whirling prop tips would smash it." "Huh?" Dawson ejaculated. "Come again, Freddy? How do I manage what?" "To hold a mirror out in front of you, so you can see yourself flying around!" the English youth shot at him. "Quite a trick, isn't it?" "Bingo, and out!" Dawson laughed. "Okay, wise guy! That puts you one up for the day. But the sun hasn't set yet. So [Pg 35] [Pg 36] [Pg 37] [Pg 38] [Pg 39] keep right up there on your toes, my lad. Well, this must be ours." As Dave spoke the last he returned the salute of the corporal driver, who had straightened to attention. "This the H.Q. taxi, Corporal?" he asked. "I guess you could call it that, sir," the non-com said with a chuckle. "Step right in and it will take you there itself. It sure has made enough trips these last couple of days to be able to do it on its own." "Really?" Freddy Farmer murmured. "All Air Forces officers, Corporal?" "No, not all, sir," the non-com replied. "About fifty-fifty Army and Navy, sir, I'd say. Quite a bunch of them, too. I guess maybe something's being cooked up for Tojo and his boys. High time, I'm thinking, too. We're quite a few runs behind them tramps." "But we'll catch up, don't worry," Dawson assured him. "They took first swings, you know, so our team will get last swings. And I do mean last swings, too." The non-com driver nodded and grinned broadly. Then as he held the car door open for the pair to climb in, he let his eyes rest on their decoration ribbons. "Yeah, Captain," he grunted, "we get last swings. But I can see that you two officers ain't been exactly hitting loud fouls every time you came up. Nailed plenty of them slant eyes, huh?" "A couple, I guess," Dave grinned. "But they were probably fledglings on their first time out." "Yeah, I bet, I bet!" the corporal snorted, and slid in behind the wheel. "Well, here goes for trip nine thousand and something!" Regardless of what number trip it was for that corporal, it was certainly the fastest, wildest ride that either Dawson or Freddy Farmer had ever had in a car. When they finally pulled up in front of the building that served as USAFFE Headquarters (United States Armed Forces in the Far East) they were both quite certain that they had left ten years of their lives somewhere along the road. As he climbed out, Dave took a five-dollar bill from his pocket and offered it to the driver. But the non-com shook his head. "That's okay, sir, and thanks just the same," he said. "I used to drive a hack in New York before the draft nailed me. So I know right guys when I see them. I don't want no tip, sir." "It isn't a tip," Dave grinned, and dropped the bill in the driver's lap. "Just a little something to buy stuff from the hospital canteen with while you're convalescing. Go on; keep it." The non-com blinked stupidly for a moment; then his flat, freckled face cracked in a broad grin. "I get it, Skipper," he said with a chuckle. "I won't spend this in no hospital. I can drive this baby with my eyes closed." "And I think you did!" Dave laughed at him. "And good luck." "And good hunting for both of you, sir!" the driver called out as Dave and Freddy went up Headquarters front steps. Just inside the big front doors, they were buttonholed by an officer seated at a desk who wanted to know their business there. They couldn't tell him that, but they gave the officer their names, and that was good enough. In fact, it seemed to please him, for he let out a long sigh. "Well, thank Heaven, you're the last of the lot!" he breathed. "I've been seeing nothing but Army and Navy pilots—even in my dreams. Report to Room Twelve Fifty for further orders. Good luck." Dave asked where he'd find Room Twelve Fifty, received the information, and started off with Freddy. "This is getting to make me feel not so good," he grunted, as he stabbed an elevator button and waited for the car to come down. "What do you mean?" the English youth asked quickly. "Have you heard something I haven't?" "With your big ears?" Dave shot at him. "Such a question! No. I mean the parting crack everybody gives us. Good luck, good hunting, and so forth. It makes me nervous when everybody keeps wishing me good luck. Makes me feel they really do know something bad is going to pop, and they're saying to themselves, 'And he seems such a nice guy, too!" "If they know you they're not saying that!" Freddy cracked back fast. "But I get the idea of what you mean. Frankly, I'm getting to hate those two words, good luck. Half the time I fancy they're not really meant." "Boy, are you going sour in your middle age!" Dave chuckled. "Cheer up, pal, and—and Good luck!" Freddy glared, and he might have started things right then and there but for the fact that the elevator came down at that moment and the sliding doors parted open. A couple of minutes later they were pushing through the door of Room [Pg 40] [Pg 41] [Pg 42] [Pg 43] Twelve Fifty. It wasn't a very big room, but it seemed jammed to the ceiling with Army, Navy, and Marine Corps pilots. Both Dave and Freddy spotted several pilots whom they knew. Then, suddenly, both came to a full stop and stared pop-eyed at the far end of the room. There was a desk there manned by a couple of high ranking officers. The pilots in the room were filing past the desk, and obviously giving their names, and so forth, to the two officers. One of them was an infantry colonel, and the other was an Air Forces major. It was sight of the infantry colonel that caused both Dave and Freddy to stop dead, and gape. In short, once again they were meeting their old friend Colonel Welsh, Chief of Combined U.S. Intelligence. "Oh-oh!" Dave murmured. "Do you see what I see, Freddy?" "I most certainly do," the English youth replied. "Fact is, we might have guessed, what?" "Yeah, something like that," Dawson grunted absently. "The colonel in the flesh, huh? Well, that means there isn't any clam bake coming up, that's certain. But I guess we must have fallen down on that last job he gave us, Freddy. And he's very disappointed."[A] "Eh?" Freddy gasped. "What do you mean, we must have fallen down on the job? Don't be silly!" "Well, look at all these other pilots here," Dave replied. "Must be he doesn't think we're so hot any more, and is going to give us plenty of help on the next job—whatever it is." "Man! How some people hate themselves!" Freddy Farmer snorted. "But I wonder what's up; what he has up his sleeve?" "Well, there's one way to find out, I guess," Dave grunted, and started to move. "Get into line, here, and ask him when it comes our turn." As Dave and Freddy were the last two to enter the room, and were therefore at the end of the line, the room was pretty well cleared of pilots when they reached the desk. Colonel Welsh was bent over a list of names and didn't look up. "Name, rank, and former unit?" he asked mechanically. "Dawson, sir. Captain. Returned from special assignment in China." Colonel Welsh stiffened, let his pencil drop, and looked up quickly. A broad smile of welcome lighted up his thin, sun- bronzed face. He didn't bother to reply to their salutes. He simply put out his hand. "So you made it, Dawson, and you, too, Farmer?" he said. "Good! I've been worrying you wouldn't get under the wire. How are you?" "Fine, sir," Dave grinned as he shook hands. "And sort of curious, of course." "Oh, quite, sir," Freddy echoed, and extended his hand. "And I fancy Dawson has expressed it for both of us." "Well, stay curious for a while, boys," the colonel replied with a dry chuckle. "But here, I want both of you to meet Major Taylor. He's seen a bit of action in this mess, too. Take a look at his decorations, if you don't believe me. Major Taylor, Captains Dawson and Farmer." The two youths shook hands with the major, and both liked him instantly. He had twinkling grey eyes that could become as cold as ice cubes when he wanted, and a warm smile that showed he always meant what he said from the heart. "Big moment Number One for me today, Captains," he said. "I've heard about you two plenty, of course. So I'm mighty glad to meet you. Maybe we can have fun together. With the Jap rats, I mean." "Nothing would suit me better, Major," Dawson replied, and meant it, too. "Definitely, Major," Freddy Farmer added. And then with a faint smile, "But where, sir?" "Oh, haven't I told you yet?" Colonel Welsh spoke up with a quick laugh. "Why, we're all making a little flight to—well, to give you something to think about, Farmer, let's call it a little flight to nowhere!" Dave Dawson With The Flying Tigers. CHAPTER FOUR Action Bound "Flight to nowhere, eh? What the blasted blue blazes did he mean by that? Is this thing going to be fitted with wings, or something, I'd like to know?" [Pg 44] [Pg 45] [Pg 46] [A] [Pg 47] It was Freddy Farmer who spoke the words. With Dave Dawson, and some two dozen Army, Navy, and Marine Corps pilots, he stood on the deck of an American destroyer steaming out of Sydney into the Tasman Sea at full knots. Just five hours ago they had met Colonel Welsh at H.Q., and—and learned nothing except that they were going on a flight to nowhere. Shortly after the Colonel had imparted to them that choice bit of "secret information," he had sent them on their way to enjoy the sights of Sydney for a few hours, and then to report to a certain Army pier at such and such a time. Well, they had seen most of the sights of Sydney in a restaurant where Freddy Farmer was at least happy, because the place was stocked with far more food than he could possibly eat at one sitting. And when it was practically coming out of his ears, they left the place and took a short walk about town. At the proper time they reported to the pier where a bunch of Army, Navy, and Marine Corps pilots were already gathered. Everybody was full of questions, but there wasn't a single answer in the whole crowd. Then presently a sleek, battle grey destroyer slid in and tied up long enough for the whole gang to be taken aboard. And now the destroyer was cleaving the night-blackened waters of Sydney Harbor and sending spray flying well back over the bridge. "Don't ask me, sweetheart," Dawson grunted, and stared down at the black waters swirling past the destroyer's hull. "Could be they're going to take us out and drown the lot of us. How do I know?" "Well, you could at least be helpful enough to make a sensible guess!" Freddy snapped. "Confound you Yanks, anyway! I never saw such mysterious business!" "Listen to the guy!" Dawson hooted. "You forget I've been to England, and served in the R.A.F. with you. For cat's sake, it usually takes a ton of TNT to get an Englishman to open his mouth long enough to admit that the sun is shining. Us Yanks mysterious? Pal, we're blabber-mouths compared with your British Intelligence Service. And don't argue with me, because I've had experience, I have!" "Rot!" the English youth growled. "But never mind, anyway. The point is, where are we going?" Dawson said nothing. He just leaned a bit more over the chain railing, and stared down at the water. "Well, can't you make a guess?" Freddy insisted. Dave started to shake his head, but on second thought checked himself. He turned and peered at Freddy in the gloom. "I don't have to guess, Freddy," he said quietly. Young Farmer stiffened, caught his breath in a gasp, and leaned close. "What's that, Dave?" he breathed excitedly. "You know? You know where we're going?" "Yes, I know," Dawson murmured, as though it were the most natural thing in the world for him to know. "Sure, I know, pal." Freddy Farmer waited just two split seconds before he practically exploded in a shower of small pieces. "Then for goodness' sake, tell me, Dave!" he choked out. "Don't keep me like this, blast you! Where are we going?" "You want to know, huh?" Dave echoed, and bent his head close to Farmer. "You want to know where we're going? Well, see where my hand is pointing? Out there beyond the bow of this tub? Well, we're going out there, sweetheart." Freddy groaned, choked and spluttered, but before he could spit out a single word, Dawson pushed back the cuff of his jacket to reveal his wrist watch. The radium-treated dial showed that it was exactly five minutes to midnight. "So that makes us one all for the day, Freddy," he chuckled. "I told you I'd get you to bite on something before the day was over. I warned you to keep up on your toes. Okay, and not sore, huh?" "Just plain disgusted, you blighter!" Freddy snarled. "Man! Why I put up with you day after day, I don't know!" "Maybe it's love," Dave chuckled, and jumped quickly as the English youth aimed a booted foot. Freddy's foot didn't connect with certain places, however. And he didn't make a second try. He simply snorted to himself and joined Dave in staring silently down at the black water flowing past. For perhaps some ten of fifteen minutes neither youth said anything. Each seemed to be quite content with his own thoughts. Eventually, though, Dave broke the silence. "Well, there's one thing, anyway, Freddy," he said. "Wherever we're going, we're going to get there soon, I guess." "Would that be the beginning of another side-splitting act of yours?" Freddy growled. "And what do you mean by it, anyway?" "It's the detective in me," Dawson replied, unruffled. "Here we are on a destroyer heading out to sea in pitch darkness, but I haven't been assigned any place to sleep, have you?" "By Jove, that's right, Dave!" young Farmer exclaimed excitedly. "We haven't, have we? Good grief! Do you suppose this is taking us to New Zealand, and we've got to ride on deck all the way?" [Pg 48] [Pg 49] [Pg 50] [Pg 51] Dawson didn't answer for a moment. He threw back his head and stared up at the trillions upon trillions of stars that glittered and gleamed in the jet black sky. "My celestial navigation tells me we're headed more toward New Caledonia than New Zealand," he said. "But I'll bet you a pair of flying goggles that we're not going to either of those places." "I won't take the bet, because you're too blasted lucky," Freddy spoke up quickly. "But anyway, why didn't you think so?" "Well, I got hit by a sudden hunch, while we were waiting on the pier for this tin can to tie up," Dawson said slowly. "And I got chewing the fat with some of the others there. Know something, Freddy?" "Well, I will after you tell me, of course," the English youth replied. "What?" "Keep your shirt on; a guy has to take a breath now and then, you know!" Dave grunted. "Well, I didn't run into a single guy who hasn't had some experience flying off an aircraft carrier. If you want my guess, it's that this load of pilots is being taken out to some carrier force waiting way off shore." "I wonder, I wonder!" Freddy Farmer murmured after a long pause. "Why would a carrier force be so top hat as not to come in and get us, I'd like to know?" "Call it 'high hat' next time, Freddy," Dave corrected gently. "White folks will think you're English, if you—" "Now, look out, my good man!" Freddy began menacingly. "I'll have you know that I'm—" "And I don't blame you for being proud that you're English, pal," Dave broke in with a chuckle. "So would I be, if I wasn't Yank. Okay, skip the funny crack. The reason a carrier force wouldn't come in to pick us up is probably because of that one word pronounced spies! One thing we want to keep plenty secret out here in the Southwest Pacific is the location of our carrier task forces. So we were loaded aboard this tin can at night, and are being sneaked out to one. Catch on?" "Not definitely," Freddy Farmer muttered, and scowled in the darkness. "Seems to me that a carrier task force at sea would have its own pilots, and what not. Besides, a lot of us aboard this destroyer are Army Air Forces pilots." "So what?" Dave said, and shrugged. "So maybe the Navy needs help in the air, and knows just where to get it." "Better keep those remarks under cover, or a certain Army pilot may be reported lost overboard!" Dave jumped straight up at the sound of the voice at his elbow, and whirled around in midair. When his feet came back on deck again he saw Colonel Welsh standing in front of him. "Gosh, you scared me, Colonel!" he gasped. "I thought a Navy pilot had overheard me!" "Good thing one didn't," the senior officer chuckled. "Plenty of rivalry between you Army and Navy pilots. And I'm afraid there are hot heads on both sides. Well, how are you enjoying a ride on a destroyer, eh?" "Oh, just too, too wonderful, sir!" Dawson replied with a groan. "But I didn't see you on the pier, Colonel. When did you come aboard? At the last minute?" "No, I came aboard much earlier," the Colonel replied. "I've been up in the commander's quarters." "Er ..." Freddy Farmer began, and faltered. "I mean," he began again, "I don't suppose he told you, sir, where we are headed?" The colonel laughed and shook his head. "He didn't have to, Farmer," he replied. "You see, I already knew. But hold on with your questions, because I don't mind telling you, now that we've shoved off. We're making for a rendezvous with a carrier task force a couple of hundred miles out to sea. We should contact it just about dawn. You chaps, if you want to sleep, will have to do it on the deck, I'm afraid. I wouldn't advise it, though, the way this ship is smashing the swells. And the commander says that it will be even rougher outside." "Thanks, I think I'll stay awake," Dawson laughed. Then, in a serious tone, "And when we reach the carrier task force, sir?" "Why, we go aboard, of course," the colonel replied. "There are two carriers. The Hawk, and the Carson. Half of you will go to one, and half to the other." "And then, sir?" Dave persisted. "For military reasons, Dawson, I'm afraid I didn't hear you," the senior officer replied. "Count on it for something interesting, though. And not easy by any manner of means. Fact is, all this may be simply the beginning of a very costly waste of time, and effort." The Chief of Combined U.S. Intelligence spoke the last while staring flint-eyed out over the rail, and as though he were [Pg 52] [Pg 53] [Pg 54] [Pg 55] repeating his own thoughts aloud to himself. A million questions piled up on the tip of Dave's tongue. And it was the same with Freddy Farmer. However, neither one of them spoke for fear it might stop the Colonel from saying more. However, they were both out of luck. The senior officer grunted, shook himself a little, and turned to them with a smile that showed his even white teeth even in the gloomy light. "Well, I wish I had time, now, to get a first-hand report from you boys of that trip to Chungking you made," he said. "And your experiences with the Flying Tigers. However, I only popped out for a breath of air. There's still a lot of paper work for me to do. I'll be seeing you soon, though; don't worry. A lot of you, probably, as I'll be aboard your carrier, the Carson. Until then, good luck!" Dave groaned, but not loud enough for Colonel Welsh to hear as he walked away. "Even him!" Dave sighed. "Good luck to you, and good luck to you—and nuts! If anybody should suddenly say, 'Bad luck' to me just once, I think I'd keel over in a dead faint!" "Oh, come off it, Dave!" Freddy grated. "What do you expect folks to say? Man, but you're getting to be a testy blighter! So we are going to a carrier task force, eh? Well, I'll have to admit that for once you were right. But I certainly wish he'd told us more." "And you can repeat that!" Dave grunted. "And all this may be simply the beginning of a very costly waste of time and effort. That, my little friend, did not sound so nice to me....