Dave Dawson on Guadalcanal Part 13

Dawson calmly hunched one shoulder and gestured with his two hands, palms upward.

"Maybe it wasn't Tokyo," he said quietly. "We didn't have a radio in our raft. Maybe other objectives were selected at the last minute. I just thought that maybe you had heard, and could tell me. Then you didn't hear the Tokyo radio last night, eh? And maybe it was _off_ the air?"

"Lies, all lies!" the j.a.p screamed again, and actually jumped up and down in his fury. "Not one enemy bomber will ever get within sight of our sh.o.r.es."

Dave was tempted to turn and snap, "Quiet! small fry!" but instead he kept looking at the n.a.z.i commander. He could tell that the German had a head full of thoughts, all bad. He and Freddy had planted the seeds of doubt and worry in the German's brain. And if they played it very carefully they might do more to help the Guadalca.n.a.l attack from right here in the U-boat than they would have if they had been able to make a hundred scouting patrols off the flight deck of the carrier Carson. At any rate, it was plain to see from the n.a.z.i's face that the little "tete-a-tete" wasn't exactly working out the way he had planned.

Something had gone off the track somewhere along the line.

Suddenly the n.a.z.i took his eyes off Dawson and looked at the j.a.p.

"Watch these two, and don't lose your head," he spoke in German. "For the present they are more valuable alive. I am going to surface, if it's clear, and see if there is anything on the radio. I won't be long."

The n.a.z.i nodded, pushed up onto his feet and brushed past Dawson and Farmer and out the door. For the first couple of seconds after that Dave held his breath and watched the j.a.p out the corner of his eye. It was all very well for the n.a.z.i commander to warn the slant-eyed one not to go off half c.o.c.keyed, but that didn't mean that the killer wouldn't revert to type at the drop of the hat. As it was, he was still trembling with savage anger, and there was definitely cold, ruthless slaughter in his glittering eyes. However, the first few moments ticked by, and nothing happened. The j.a.p just stared at them like a hesitant cobra, and that's as far as it went.

Ten minutes, that seemed to take ten years in pa.s.sing, finally came to an end. Then the door was opened and the n.a.z.i commander came back inside. Dawson looked quickly at his face, and was more than pleased with what he saw. The scowl on the n.a.z.i's face was darker than ever, and he had all the appearance of a man who has received a setback that he can't quite understand. It was on the tip of Dave's tongue to ask if he had heard anything on the radio, but he remembered just in time that neither Freddy or himself were supposed to understand German. Therefore he just kept his mouth shut, and silently waited. And he didn't have to wait long. The n.a.z.i looked at the j.a.p and shook his head.

"Nothing!" he growled. "Too much static. I could not even raise Admiral Sasebo's flagship. The air is full of nothing but whines and squeals."

At the mention of the name, Admiral Sasebo, Dawson jumped inwardly. And he could almost feel Freddy Farmer start at the mention of the name, too. Out there in the Southwest Pacific that j.a.p Navy man had "won" for himself the t.i.tle of "Suicide" Sasebo. Losses meant nothing to him. To gain and hold an objective was all that mattered, regardless of whether the objective was important or not. Once on a Tokyo scare broadcast to the world, Sasebo had stated, "We will win because we are prepared to lose ten million soldiers, if we have to." And that was exactly the way Admiral Sasebo had fought his part of the war. He was a madman who never stopped to count the cost in troops, and ships, and planes, and equipment. In time, if he still held his high office, he would lose the war for j.a.pan by simply bleeding his country white. But though he constantly sacrificed thousands of his own forces, that did not mean he didn't inflict damage. He did. And so, if Admiral Sasebo was at sea, and on the loose again, it could well mean a lot of trouble, and then some.

"Perhaps you can make the contact later, _Herr Kommandant_," the j.a.p's voice cut through Dawson's thoughts. "But what about these two dogs.

They speak nothing but lies. That's all they know. Nothing but lies. All Americans are stupid fools. I should have killed them yesterday when they were in the water."

Once again Dawson started inwardly, and in spite of himself he shot the j.a.p an agate-eyed stare. Fortunately the so-called Son of Heaven's follower was not looking at him, and so did not see that Dawson understood the words he spoke in German. Just the same, the realization that this slant-eyed, pint-sized rat had been in that tricky seaplane yesterday was a shock to Dawson. He recovered from his shock instantly, though, and longed for about five minutes with that double-crossing j.a.p in a locked room. He had a score to pay off, and he would have liked nothing better than the opportunity to do just that.

However, for the present, it was just so much wishful thinking as far as Dawson was concerned. Also, there were other things of far more importance than the item of knocking that j.a.p for a flock of outside loops. As a matter of fact, when the n.a.z.i commander spoke again Dawson completely forgot about his private war with the j.a.p naval officer.

"That may be as you say," the n.a.z.i said, addressing himself to the j.a.p.

"These two may be young fools, like their countrymen. However, even fools can be useful. That is why I ordered you to trick them down into the water yesterday. Their plane was of the type used on American carriers. That proves that an American carrier force was not more than a few hundred miles distance from the point where you shot them down.

But just exactly where? Is that force south of here and advancing through waters we control? Or have they spoken the truth, and is it north on some mission we know nothing about? We must obtain the answer to one or both of those questions, Honorable Comrade, you see?"

The j.a.p made a face and waved one hand in a careless gesture.

"I speak as a j.a.panese, and laugh in their faces!" he replied with a hissing note in his voice. "Where they are, or what they plan to do, is of no matter. They are doomed. The mighty forces of the Emperor will crush them. If they have a force moving north, Admiral Sasebo will trap them and cut them to pieces. And if their force is already north of us, then Admiral Kusiro will shoot their planes into the sea, and sink all of their ships. j.a.pan is too strong for her enemies. We have already proved that many times."

"Yes, true, of course," the n.a.z.i commander said as though he were trying to soothe an upstart brat. "But unless we know everything, it may make it difficult for Admiral Sasebo's force. The American attack on Guadalca.n.a.l is to start soon. Perhaps it has already begun. If Admiral Sasebo is to wipe out any successes the Americans might gain, and annihilate their forces, and cut off all reenforcements, he must have knowledge of what is going on _elsewhere_. For him to run into an unknown enemy task force might complicate things a lot. At least it would bring about a serious delay in his own operations. If we can aid him in any way, we must. That was what I was thinking of yesterday when we surfaced and sighted their plane on scout patrol."

The j.a.p nodded reluctantly and spoke something in reply, but it was lost on Dawson's ears for the simple reason that his brain was spinning, and his head filled with roaring sound. _The j.a.ps knew of the American plans to attack Guadalca.n.a.l!_ That bit of news just about knocked him off his feet, and for a few seconds he could hardly breathe, much less think.

And when his brain started functioning again, every thought was like a twisting knife buried deep in his heart.

The j.a.ps knew of the American plan to attack Guadalca.n.a.l! Admiral "Suicide" Sasebo was obviously on his way with a huge task force to catch the Americans by surprise and wipe them out completely before sufficient reenforcements could be rushed to the Solomons. Sasebo's force was headed southward, and Admiral Jackson's task force was coming up from the south to intercept. Maybe they wouldn't meet. Maybe the j.a.ps would pa.s.s right on by and leave Jackson's ships and planes searching an empty ocean. It might be a case of check and double-check, but the breaks were mostly on Suicide Sasebo's side. _He_ knew what the Americans were up to, and the Yanks _didn't_ know Sasebo's reason for moving southward from Truk. In fact, they didn't know _for sure_ that Sasebo _was moving south_, to say nothing of smashing the American attack on Guadalca.n.a.l and Tulagi.

A hundred and one thunderbolts were crashing through Dawson's brain. He didn't even dare glance sidewise at Freddy Farmer's face for fear he would see there the expression of wild alarm he was struggling to keep from showing on his own face. And then, suddenly, he became conscious of the U-boat commander speaking to the j.a.p again.

"... And we Germans have ways to make our prisoners talk, too," he was saying. "But I do not think that is best, right now. Tonight we will make a rendezvous with Admiral Sasebo's force. However, it is several hours until night. Also, even though we should get them to tell us what we should know, the radio might still be jammed with static. And so I think it is best for you to take them to Admiral Sasebo. Then he can do as he wishes. Meanwhile I will continue to patrol this area. And perhaps at the rendezvous I will have something interesting to report. Yes, I think the best plan is to surface, and launch the seaplane, and fly them direct to Admiral Sasebo's ship."

CHAPTER TWELVE

_Helpless Heroes_

A brief moment of tingling silence seemed to hover in the air right after the n.a.z.i U-boat commander stopped speaking. Then the j.a.p made more of his punctured tire hissing sound and bobbed his head violently.

"Yes, a very good plan, _Herr Kommandant_," he said in the other's tongue. "I, myself, will fly them to the ill.u.s.trious Admiral's ship, and obey his commands. He will learn all there is to learn, I can promise you. There is no one in all j.a.pan so clever as the Honorable Admiral.

And tonight he will receive you with praise. That I can promise, too. I have often heard it said that he admires you most of all your countrymen your Honorable Fuehrer has sent to a.s.sist us."

That last statement was proof that the slant-eyed j.a.p was no dope. He knew how to soft-soap the n.a.z.i square-head type, and the feeling of uneasiness in Dawson increased considerably. He half wished the n.a.z.i would change his mind and decide to keep Freddy and him prisoners aboard the U-boat. There was something in the j.a.p's face that didn't make him feel even a little satisfied. On the contrary, he wondered plenty _if_ the j.a.p _would_ fly them to Sasebo's ship! Neither Freddy nor himself had sold the j.a.p a thing, as they had the n.a.z.i. Ten to one the Son of Nippon secretly regarded them as just two humans to slaughter at will, and with much pleasure. And so, steeling himself inwardly, and bearing down hard to keep any of his feelings from showing on his face, Dave waited for the next move in this game of life and death in which those favoring death had most of the chips.

"I am honored to learn that your Honorable Admiral thinks so highly of me," the n.a.z.i said as his chest puffed out a little. "And the feeling is mutual, I a.s.sure you. Good, then. You will fly these two to the Admiral, and we will meet again tonight. We'll--"

The n.a.z.i paused, frowned at his wrist watch, and then nodded.

"In an hour," he said, looking back at the j.a.p. "We will run submerged for an hour longer. Then we will surface, and if all is well we will launch the plane. In the meantime you can lock them up forward. They will be safe, if _not_ comfortable, in that empty stores compartment forward. Lock them up, and then come back and join me in an officer's toast to your Emperor, and to my Fuehrer."

The j.a.p beamed like a joyful rattlesnake and made a stiff, jerky bow from the waist. Then he quickly became the very, very tough little guy.

He waved his gun at Dawson and Freddy and screamed an order.

"Go outside, dogs! We have no further use for you! Go outside and in the direction I order. Move, before I shoot you where you stand!"

The j.a.p spoke in English that time, and so, with a forced look of bewilderment on his face, Dawson turned and led the way out into the companionway. Perhaps Freddy took just a little too long to follow.

Anyway, Dave heard the slap of the j.a.p's gun against his pal's head and a split second later the English youth stumbled against him in a desperate effort to remain on his feet. He succeeded, and a few minutes later they were shoved through a door into pitch darkness, the door was clanged shut behind, and the rasping sound of the twisting lock key grated on their ears.

"You hurt bad, Freddy?" Dave asked anxiously as he stood motionless in the dark.

"Fancy I'll survive!" Freddy replied bitterly. "The dirty beggar. Man! I never thought I'd ever be able to enjoy killing a man. But I'm sure I'd enjoy killing that filthy swine!"

"After me, you come next," Dave said grimly, and started putting one foot cautiously in front of the other. "I guess this place is empty, so we might as well sit on the deck and try to be comfortable. Come on over here, Freddy. We can use this bulkhead wall for a back rest. We _are_ in a jam, Freddy!"

The English-born air ace didn't speak until both of them were sitting on the smooth steel deck and were leaning back against the bulkhead wall.

Then he sighed, and groaned softly.

"Quite!" he muttered. "A blasted awful mess, too. It makes me ill to think of what they said. Man! Dave! The blighters _know_ about our plans to attack Guadalca.n.a.l. I thought I'd choke when I heard that. That's bad, you know, Dave."

"You're telling me, son?" Dawson echoed. "It's worse than that. But it doesn't help much to groan about it. What worries me is what's going to happen when that ten cent j.a.p dumps us in Suicide Sasebo's lap? We had that thick-headed n.a.z.i believing us about our forces being way up north. I thought for a moment--that is, I hoped that--Aw, nuts! We couldn't hope to work a break _that_ good!"

"We may yet," Freddy Farmer remarked after a long moment of silence. "If we could only just get this Sasebo to believe that there is nothing south of him, and that all our naval and air forces are way up north and about to strike at j.a.pan direct, then--"

The English youth suddenly seemed to realize he was reaching for stars, and let the rest trail off into silence.

"And get him to change his plans and go high balling with his whole force north for another one of his pet suicide ventures?" Dave more or less finished for him. "Sure, pal, that would be tops. It would be almost as good as if we could dive right out through these steel plates and swim to the Carson and tell Admiral Jackson the exact location of Suicide's force moving south."

"Yes, absolutely!" Freddy grunted. Then, after a slight pause, he added, "And the truth of the matter is that I _could_ tell Admiral Jackson where Sasebo's force is, _if_ I could get to him."

Dawson gasped, choked, and gaped toward his pal in the pitch darkness.