"Not one blessed thing," he said sadly. "When you two seemed to have disappeared from the face of the Islands, I took the job in hand and personally checked every fighter pilot aboard. Not to anyone's knowledge aboard, of course. And I had what men I could spare check on fighter pilots' moves ashore for the day they were in port. Of course I didn't have enough men to assign one to each fighter pilot, but I doubt if I would have been any more successful. "But the force sailed!" Dawson said with a groan. "Why? Couldn't you have got Vice-Admiral Stone to delay sailing? Or couldn't you have taken every fighter pilot off the carriers, and replaced them with others? I mean ... well, wasn't there _something_ that could have been done, sir?" Commander Drake shook his head, and sighed again. "No," he said quietly. "The mission that force is on now has been planned for months. To hold it up would upset our entire plan of war in the Pacific. The carrier force simply had to sail on schedule. There wasn't anything else we could do but take the chance that that Nazi spy won't be able to get away with whatever he plans to accomplish." "But why won't he, sir?" Freddy Farmer protested. "Nobody knows who he is!" The Naval Intelligence officer gestured with his two hands, palms upward. "You're right, nobody does, Farmer," he said. "But all the fighter squadron and division commanders were called before Vice-Admiral Stone before the force sailed. They were told the whole story and ordered to keep an eye on their pilots at all times. Because of one rat in their midst all the others have got to suffer for it. But that's the way it is. Also, certain other officers aboard the carriers were told the story, and they will keep a strict watch of the deck beginning with sundown. And another precaution has been taken, also. It's probably the one that will get us the best results, if there are to be any results." "And what precaution is that, sir?" Dawson asked as the commander paused for breath. The Naval Intelligence officer permitted a faint smile to light up his grave face for a moment. "That was my contribution to the affair," he said. "A part of the destroyer escort will sail the same course but exactly four hours behind the carriers. You heard that Jap in San Diego tell the Nazi that the flares will burst into light some three to four hours after they have been in the water. Well, the destroyers will steam four hours behind the carriers, so their look-outs should certainly spot any flares, if there are any about." "My compliments, sir," Dawson said with a smile. "That was a very good suggestion. It should work. And if you must know, it makes me feel a little better about the safety of that carrier force. But now I'd like to make a suggestion to you, sir, if you don't mind? Or to be exact, it's a request. Something I'd like to ask you to do." The commander nodded and waved one hand.