Stew all but stood up in his place while Jack divided his attention between the bombers and his disabled motor. “Now!” Stew exclaimed at last. “Now they’re diving! Listen!” He held his breath, counting “One—two—three—four—five—six—seven—” He had reached twenty when there came a roar. “Oh! Too bad! That one missed!” Hardly were the words out of his mouth when there came a second roar. “Right on the beam! Boy! Oh boy!” Six bombers dumped their loads. “Three connected,” was Stew’s decision. “That’s a very good record.” Then all of a sudden they emerged from the screening rain squall to find themselves over a bright, blue sea. In the center of this sea, two large cargo ships and three destroyers steamed rapidly toward the east. “Oh!” Stew groaned. “They’ll get away! And I have a hunch they’re the most important of all.” For a space of seconds Jack considered turning back in an effort to direct some of the bombers toward this target. “No use,” he grumbled. “We’d never make it in time.” “Besides,” Stew’s voice went husky, “here come three of our torpedo bombers. They got my message after all! Boy! We’re some use in the world, you and I! And we’re really going to see a show.” “A grandstand seat! No high fence this time.” Jack’s voice expressed his joy. At sight of the torpedo planes the two cargo ships began zigzagging, while the destroyers darted in close to them. Like catbirds after hawks, four Zeros followed the torpedo planes, but as yet were too far away to count. “Man! Oh man!” Jack exclaimed. “Suppose those Zeros come after us!” “Let them come!” Stew looked to the loading of his gun. “We’ll be waiting for them. We can’t run, but we still can fight.” Two destroyers lay between the torpedo planes and the cargo ships. Their pom-pom guns began throwing up shells. The boys could see them explode in mid-air. Disregarding these, the torpedo pilots came sailing straight in, dropping rapidly as they approached their target. Jack held his breath as one by one they passed through shellfire. That’s Dick, I imagine, he was thinking. Dick, Bert and Phil. All swell boys! One shell, exploding beneath the second plane, lifted it into the air, but the plane came straight on. At just the right moment, not five hundred feet from the sea, the first plane released its “tin fish.” Jack saw it hit the sea and speed away. “Bull’s-eye!” he shouted. But the torpedo acted strangely. It leaped into the air, then dove like a playing porpoise. At last it reached the side of a cargo ship. “Now!” Stew breathed. But there came no sound. “Oh!” Jack exclaimed, as he saw the torpedo speed away beyond the ship. “It went right under her! What a—” He did not finish, for suddenly a mighty explosion fairly tore the sky. “Did you see that!” Stew exclaimed. “The second torpedo took that ship right on the beam! And did she explode! Must have been loaded with TNT.”