"An important use," the Jap replied. "Right now there are three American
carriers in the San Diego Basin. You know that yours will sail tonight.
Perhaps the other two, with their forces, will sail also. It may be,
though, that only your carrier will stop at Pearl Harbor. Later it may
meet the other two carriers at sea. You do not know now, and neither do
I. However, you can keep our Pacific patrol forces informed of your own
position. The water flares. I will explain their use briefly, and the
one in Honolulu will give you detailed instructions. It will be an easy
matter for you to learn the position of your carrier, and its force. An
equally easy matter for you to learn the strength of your force, and
whether others have joined it. So! Each evening you will put all that
information down on special paper that you will be given in Honolulu,
and put it in a watertight pocket attached to the flare. Then, unseen,
you will throw the flare into the water. It is so constructed that it
will not break into light for three or four hours. That is so that your
carrier will be far out of sight range by then. However, come darkness,
all of our submarines will surface to re-charge their batteries. Perhaps
one of them will see the flare. Or perhaps one of our long-range
patrolling Kawanishi flying boats will sight the flare, and land beside
it. Perhaps not the first night you are at sea, or the next, or the
next. But one night a flare will be picked up, and we will know all we
need to know to set our trap of destruction for a future date."
"That sounds very interesting!" the Nazi said eagerly. "I shall enjoy
doing that kind of work. Let us hope that a dozen of their swine
carriers make up the force of which mine will be a part!"
"Let us hope so," the Jap replied, with a little laugh that chilled the
blood in Dawson's veins, "but let us not count on it. The American dogs
are not fools, all the time. We have shown them what happens to fools.
But if it be only your carrier, that will be enough. From the
information you throw into the water each night we will be able to
guess accurately the destination of the force. Then at the right moment
Admiral Shimoda's forces will destroy it completely. The victory will be
just what is needed in Japan, and in Germany, too. And the Americans
will cease to be so foolishly bold. They will hesitate, and that will
give Admiral Shimoda the necessary time he desires to re-enforce his
ground forces and break the American grip on New Guinea and the
Solomons."
"But if we could get several of their carriers!" the Nazi said fiercely.
"We ..."
"We will hope for that," the Jap stopped him, "but we will be content
with one carrier force. It will be enough for the present. Now, before
you go I want you to look at this map of Honolulu. I will show you the
quickest way to reach the address I have given you. Your carrier may not
remain in Pearl Harbor long, so you must not waste time making this
important contact."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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