"That Jap, who hasn't been caught yet, and probably won't be," Dave replied. "He knows very well he didn't kill us, so it's a cinch he figured that we would tell what we knew, which we did. And it's just possible that he was in a position to keep an eye on us. So if he saw us take off in a Navy plane bound for Pearl he would know very well that we heard about his Nazi boy friend heading that way on one of our carriers. I mean, it stands to reason that he doesn't know how much we heard. If he saw us head for Pearl he'd know for sure that we heard plenty, and maybe there is some way he can contact that Nazi. Or even better, contact that rat in Honolulu and have him clear out before the Nazi shows up. In case he's spotted and trailed. See what I mean?" "Well, you make it just about as clear as mud, but I think I follow you," young Farmer said. "So to throw off the Jap, in case he was watching us, the vice-admiral sent us up here, as though we had been transferred to the Air Forces, eh?" "Go to the head of the class," Dave said with a nod. "That's just how I figure Vice-Admiral Carter reasoned. To ship us both north to an Air Forces base may give that Jap, if he was watching us, the idea that we hadn't learned a thing." "Well, we're here, anyway," Freddy Farmer said with a shrug. "A thought comes to me, though." "Grab it and hang onto it hard, kid," Dawson laughed. "Those things are rare as far as you're concerned, you know." But Freddy didn't rise to that remark. He stared fixedly at the twenty or more Flying Fortresses and Liberators lined up on the far side of the huge Los Angeles field. "I wonder if that Nazi fighter pilot _is_ aboard one of those carriers?" he suddenly said in a low voice, as though asking himself the question. Dawson gulped as he suddenly realized that possibility. "Sweet tripe!" he gasped. "That _is_ a thought! Maybe, knowing that we were listening, they decided to take the chance of his going aboard. Maybe they ... But nuts! That's crazy!" "How so?" Freddy questioned. "Well, look at it," Dave argued, and gestured with one hand. "That Nazi was all set as a fighter pilot aboard a Yank carrier. For him to jump ship, and not sail, would make him a marked man for sure. You don't miss your ship, and just walk into the Naval District commandant, and laugh it off. You catch plenty. And in his case, if _he_ jumped ship _he_ certainly wouldn't report to the Naval commandant. He'd make tracks in the opposite direction. And his place as a spy in our forces would be gone forever. No, I think he took the chance and sailed with her." "There's one way we could find out," Freddy said. "Let's phone Vice-Admiral Carter. He can certainly find out in a minute if either of the carriers sailed with a fighter pilot missing. Or if one took a replacement aboard at the last minute."