CHAPTER EIGHT
_Eagle's Eyes_
When darkness settled down, the two-carrier task force changed course todue north, spread out considerably, and went churning forward at fullknots, and with not so much as a speck of light showing any place. For acouple of hours after evening mess Dawson and Farmer loafed around ondeck, as did almost everybody else who was not on duty. Little wasspoken, though, in the way of conversation, and then only in low tones.From bow to stern, and from keel to signal bridge, there prevailed anatmosphere of tense, silent excitement. Everybody aboard knew that thetask force would pass almost within a stone's throw of the Jap occupiedSolomons some time during the night. And every other split second atleast a hundred pair of eyes peered out over the port rail at the wallof night to the west.
Eventually, though, the desire for sleep was stronger than the desire toremain awake just in case. And so one by one the pilots went below. AndDave and Freddy were among the first in the parade.
"This isn't any pleasure cruise, so we might as well catch all theshut-eye we can," Dave summed it up as he stretched out in his bunk."It's a cinch the Admiral isn't going to send word around when we reachthe closest point to the Solomons, so why stay up on deck staring atnothing but darkness?"
"Quite," Freddy murmured. "And if the force is sighted we'll know aboutit soon enough."
"Now, isn't that a sweet thought to go to sleep on?" Dave growled, androlled over on his side. "See you in the morning, sweetheart. Stay upand worry if you want to. But not me!"
"Who said who was worrying?" the English youth snapped. "I was onlyremarking that--"
Freddy cut himself off short and glared at Dawson's bunk. A faint snoretold him that he was addressing an audience that consisted of onlyhimself. He made a face, snapped off the light, and pulled aside theblackout curtains over the ports to let in the night air, and thenstretched out himself and thought of his homeland many thousands ofmiles away. However, he didn't think of England for very long. Sleepsoon pulled down his eyelids and off he drifted.
The next thing either of them knew was the blaring of the inter-shipalarm siren, and the hubbub and scuffle of activity on the deck above.Instantly both were wide awake and leaping out of their bunks.
"Trouble!" Dave snapped. "Let's go. Hey! It's light! We must be past theSolomons!"
"There's one way to find out!" Freddy shot back at him, and grabbed uphis helmet and goggles.
Dawson, also, had slept in his clothes so as to be ready for anyemergency. So he grabbed his helmet and goggles and followed Freddy outof the cabin. When they reached the flight deck it was to find that allthe commotion was caused by the carrier's early patrol getting off for aquick look-see ahead. There was no sign of enemy planes in thedawn-tinted heavens. In fact, as Dawson took a good look toward all fourpoints of the compass he realized that there was no sign of anythingsave the flock of ships that made up the task force, and countlesssquare miles of rolling blue-green ocean. He turned to Freddy to makesome remark about the situation, but checked the words as Donald Duckblared out an announcement.
"All pilots assigned to special duty will go below for breakfast, andthen report to the Ready-Room for briefing!"
"That's us, Freddy, old--" Dave began, and stopped short.
The English youth was already on his way down to eat. Dave chuckled,gave a little shake of his head, and followed his pal. And just thirtyminutes later all of the special assignment pilots were gathered in theReady-Room. Colonel Welsh and the executive flight officer were there,and the colonel started talking as soon as the last pilot to arrive hadseated himself.
"Well, we made it, we think," he began. "Nothing was sighted last night,and right now we are on the edge of the area to be searched. Thesearching patrols are to be made in relays. That is, all of you will goout and fly your patrols, and as you are returning to refuel the Hawkwill launch her planes to take up where you left off. Here on the tablein front of me are envelopes containing patrol courses and instructionsfor every flying team. Your names are printed on the outside, so beforeyou leave come up and get your envelope. Well, I guess that's all,except this. We feel, now, that the Jap snooper business late yesterdayafternoon didn't do us any harm. At least we hope and pray that it islike that. However, there is just a chance that the Japs have managed totrail us somehow, and will attempt to cross us up by launching aland-based attack. For that reason, keep your radios open all the timeyou are in the air. You may get the call to come back here in a hurry."
The colonel paused, started to make a gesture of dismissal, but checkedhimself.
"Now, there's one more thing I'd better mention, though you'll find itincluded in your sealed orders," he said. "And it is this. The safety ofthis task force is of prime importance. At least, until we have foundthis unknown Jap force and are engaging it. I mean by that, if any ofyou get into any personal trouble, such as being jumped by surprise byJap planes, or something goes wrong that forces you down into the drink,don't count on any help from this task force. You will be strictly onyour own. In short, as you will learn when you read your individualorders, you are _not_ to make radio contact with this task force _unlessyou sight Jap surface units of three or more ships in number_. Onereason for that is to prevent any Japs from listening in on your wavelengths, and learning of the force's existence in these waters by takinga bearing to locate our position. And the reason it must be three ormore Jap ships that you sight is because the Japs might possibly try todecoy us into a favorable position for them. Well, that is all, now.Good luck, and Godspeed to all of you. We have two days and one night inwhich to accomplish this mighty difficult job. If we don't sight thatJap force today, then we've absolutely _got_ to do it tomorrow. Theattack on Guadalcanal and Tulagi will begin on the morning of the thirdday--whether we succeed, or fail. And so it's up to you pilots. And Iknow you'll make the grade. Good luck, again."
As the colonel stopped talking there was no burst of applause, oranything like that, from the pilots. Each man simply nodded gravely andthen went up to the table to collect his sealed orders. Dave got theenvelope for Freddy and himself, and without stopping to open it thepair hurried top-side to where their aircraft was waiting with propalready ticking over. Settling themselves in the aircraft, they took outtheir orders and read them over carefully. The course they were to flyextended out over the water for some three hundred and fifty miles in adead northwest direction. They were to keep at an altitude of eightthousand feet, unless clouds or storms interfered, and their code callwas to be Tiger, just as it had been yesterday.
"Okay, Mister Navigator," Dave said, and passed the course chart over toFreddy. "You keep track of our position, pal. And don't bother toexplain if you get us lost. Just jump over the side and leave yourparachute behind, see?"
"Oh, really?" the English youth growled. "Well, don't worry about me, mygood man. I'll take care of my end, thank you. Just concentrate onkeeping us _in_ the air. Matter of fact, I think it's rather silly of meto take you along. Perhaps I should speak of that to Colonel Welsh,right now."
"Do, sweetheart, by all means!" Dawson snarled, and pointed a fingertoward the sky. "I'll be up there waiting for you when you get back!"
Freddy started to say something in return but checked himself as hecaught sight of the signal officer pointing his flag.
"Get going, Dave," he said, and winked. "Off we go, and luck to both ofus, old thing."
"Right on the old beam, pal," Dawson replied, and turned front. "You,me, and this baby with wings. Maybe we'll all be heroes of the taskforce, come sundown."
"You be the hero," Freddy laughed at him. "All _I_ want to be is_lucky_, and to find the Jap force!"
"And you've really got something there, kid!" Dawson agreed instantly,and then gave his attention to the flag pointing signal officer on theflight bridge.
Just three minutes and twenty seconds later Dawson took the Dauntlessoff the flight deck and nosed it up toward the early morning sky. Hekept on going up until the altimeter said eight thousand feet.
There heleveled off, set his course according to the instructions Freddy Farmergave him, took a last look down at the Carson that was launching herplanes at the rate of one every fifteen seconds, and then turned frontand settled himself comfortably in the seat. Minutes later the taskforce was out of sight far behind and Freddy and he were alone in aworld of dawn light and limitless expanse of ocean below.