They did. But reaction was catching up with Dave Dawson and Freddy Farmer. And fatigue, too. And so they were really too worn out from their harrowing experiences of the night to be able to pay proper attention to the gorgeous scenery that rolled by on either side of the car. As a matter of fact, Freddy Farmer fell sound asleep twice. And Dawson caught his own eyelids sagging a few times. Obviously Commander Drake noticed these signs, because when they rolled through the gates that opened onto the Kaneohe Naval Air Station, he ordered the rating at the wheel to drive them to his own quarters, instead of to the commandant's office. And when they reached the commander's quarters they were treated to that special brand of thoughtfulness and courtesy for which the U.S. Navy is so famous. Commander Drake played the magician in the fullest meaning of the word. He produced warm baths for the two dead tired pilots, clean fresh uniforms for both of them, a pharmacist's mate to check their burns and fix them up, and last but not least as far as Freddy Farmer was concerned, a breakfast such as you probably wouldn't get even in the White House. And not once did he bother them with questions, or even act as though he couldn't keep his tongue still any longer. In short, by the time the Navy officer took them over to meet the station commandant he had made himself their friend for life, and they both felt as though they had just got up from a perfect night's sleep, instead of having just completed a nerve-racking twenty-four hundred and two mile flight. "If you don't mind my saying so, sir," Dawson said as he breathed deep of the invigorating Hawaiian air, "you're a miracle man, if I ever met one. I was dreading trying to keep awake while I made my report to the vice-admiral, but now I feel like a million dollars. And not a cent under it." "Quite, sir!" Freddy Farmer echoed instantly. "I only hope that some day Dawson and I will have the opportunity to do the same for you." "Well, thanks, but I hope not," Commander Drake said with his pleasant laugh. "Of course, I'd love to be your guests at your air base some day. But definitely not in the condition you two were in. You sure gave me a start when you climbed down out of that Fortress. You gave all of us a start for that matter." Dawson grinned, and then his grin faded as memory started to return. "Well, it was sure one of the happiest landings I ever made, I can tell you that, sir," he said soberly. "Amen," Freddy Farmer echoed just as soberly. That ended the conversation between them, for they had reached Vice-Admiral Stone's office, and the station commandant had risen from behind his huge desk and was smiling his greeting while at the same time faint puzzlement played about in his steel blue eyes.