"Maybe," Dawson said with a shrug. "But until I get a better explanation
I'm going to continue to pin it on that Japrat. Anyway, here we are, and
that Japrat back at Dago is a forgotten issue, as far as I'm concerned.
Now it's for that dirty Nazi in a Yank Naval Aviation uniform, the
stinker."
"Quite," Freddy Farmer murmured. "And here comes the reception
committee, or something. Looks like they don't trust you to taxi this
thing in. The signal tower says for us to stay put. Just as well, too.
You can mess up an airplane even on the ground, you know."
Dawson had a fitting crack to that remark, but he sighed and let it go
unspoken. An Air Forces jeep had come rocketing out to the Flying
Fortress, and braked to a stop just under the left wing. Dave half waved
at the occupants of the jeep, three Air Forces officers and a Navy
commander, and then slid out of his seat, and made his way aft to the
belly exit of the plane.
A couple of minutes later they were facing the wide-eyed stares of the
jeep's riders.
"I'm Captain Larkin, duty officer," one of the Air Forces officers said.
"But, what happened to you two? You run into trouble? From here you look
like you bumped into the whole Jap air force."
"We had a little trouble," Dawson said with a grin. "But ..."
That's as far as he got. The Navy commander gave a sharp shake of his
head, and stepped forward.
"Sorry, Captain Larkin," he said with a pleasant smile, "but these two
are to report to Vice-Admiral Stone at once. Any report is to be made
to him."
Captain Larkin frowned, then shrugged and returned the other's smile.
"Yes, of course, Commander," he said. "I understand. But ... well, let
it go. Welcome to Hickam, you two. If you get the chance, drop back over
here and tell us what's new on the mainland, eh?"
"We'll do that, if we get the chance," Dawson assured him.
"Oh, quite," Freddy Farmer murmured.
And then the Navy commander took charge of them. He introduced himself
as Commander Drake, and he talked pleasantly of everything save their
flight to Oahu as he led them off the field and over to a waiting Navy
car, with a rating at the wheel.
"Sorry to choke things off that way," he said as they climbed in. "But
the vice-admiral's orders were that you were to talk to no one. Not even
to me. So we'll get going, and then you can report all to the
vice-admiral. And from the looks of you, I hope he permits me to remain
and hear it."
"Where is the vice-admiral, sir?" Dawson asked as the Navy rating behind
the wheel shifted the car into gear, and got it rolling.
"The Kaneohe Naval Air Station on Mokapu Point," the commander replied.
"It's a few miles, but one of the prettiest drives on the Island. You'll
see some of the real Hawaiian scenery."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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