"And while we're at it, let's shoot the works," Dawson said with a dry
chuckle. "We'll not only swipe a plane, but we'll also swipe all of
Sasebo's task force plans before we leave. And maybe even his samurai
sword. Now, there is something that would sure get the guy's goat. And
I don't mean perhaps!"
Freddy Farmer joined Dave in laughing, and then, suddenly, as their eyes
met both sobered in a flash. All that had happened to them, and the
terrific strain under which they were right then, was fast catching up
with them. It was causing them to become just a bit light-headed, to
talk through their hats, and--and, if they didn't call a halt, send them
haywire like a couple of babbling idiots. They saw that approaching
breaking point in each other's eyes. And it straightened them up, and
fast.
"Well, anyway, we got some of it off our chests," Dawson muttered, and
stared down at his red welt-marked wrists.
"Yes, quite," Freddy Farmer echoed absently. "And I fancy it helped a
little. But I wonder what, Dave?"
"And so do I, chum," Dawson sighed. "So do I!"
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
_Devil Eyes_
A good fifteen minutes of silence settled over the two battle-scarred
youths before it was broken. And when it was, it was not by either of
them. On the contrary, it was broken by a third party. By an unusually
tall, and well built Japanese Navy officer who opened the door of the
empty cabin and came striding inside. Both boys were startled by his
sudden approach, they were amazed by his huge size, and they also
noticed that he was unarmed save for the samurai sword hung at his belt.
But when they looked at his face, at his eyes, they both gulped
impulsively.
The newcomer's eyes were plenty Jap. They were also even more than that.
The first impression that came to Dave was that he was looking into a
pair of devil's eyes, if ever a pair existed. They were more black than
brown, and they had the sagging double upper lid that distinguishes a
Jap's eyes from those of a Chinese. But there was still something else
about them. A certain something that was in their depths. Call it all
the hideous cruelty in the world reflected there. Or call it the true
look of a born killer and savage. Or call it what you will. There was
something there that made Dawson catch his breath, and go hot and cold
all over. It was like looking down the muzzle of a rifle and watching
the finger crooked about the trigger tighten slowly. In the next split
second--
"Come with me, please!"
The words that fell from the Jap's lips were like rifle shots. Hardly
realizing that they were doing so, both youths sprang quickly up onto
their feet. The big Jap smiled broadly.
"Good," he said, and bobbed his close shaven head. "I can see that you
have learned a little of the lesson you should have learned a long time
ago. Come with me, and do not let there be any trouble, please."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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