“Then nothing will be done, sir,” Ted’s voice fell. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. In a few days we should be passing this way again. Then we’ll look them up, if such a thing is possible.” “A few days!” Ted exclaimed. “A lot can happen in a few days, sir!” “Quite right, my son. But this is war. In war we must all face the consequences.” The Commander rose. “I appreciate your interest in your friends. You, yourself did splendid work today. It shall not be forgotten.” “Oh, that!” Ted waved a hand. “Add it to Jack’s share of glory, sir.” “In the Navy,” the Commander smiled, “there can be no reflected glory. Don’t be too greatly disturbed by the plight of your comrades,” he added. “They’re probably eating native-fried chicken at this very moment.” “Here’s hoping.” Ted smiled uncertainly. “Many thanks, sir. Good night, sir.” “Good night.” The interview was at an end, but for Ted the incident was not closed, nor would it be until Jack and Stew were safely back on the carrier, or known to be gone forever. In the meantime, sitting there beneath their mosquito-bar canopy on the dark mysterious island, Jack was finishing the story he had been telling to Stew. “Queer thing is,” he was saying, “though you might not say it was so queer, either; but when Ted found me on the carrier he dragged me off to a dark corner. He seemed pretty excited. “What he said was, ‘Look here, Jack. We’re not from the same town—not any more, we aren’t.’ “I didn’t like that kind of talk. ‘How come?’ I demanded. “‘Look, Jack, don’t get me wrong.’ He seemed very much in earnest. ‘I’ll do anything I can for you, just anything. But you know how we’ve always been?’ “‘Yes. Fighting.’ I said. “‘Well, not fighting,’ he said, ‘but rivals. That was all right back there,’ he went on. ‘But here it’s different. Here we’re working for Uncle Sam. We’ve no time now for personal rivalries. It’s a mighty serious business.’ “‘It sure is, Ted,’ I told him. “‘All right then, look.’ He grabbed my hand. ‘We’ve got just one rival in this business.’ “‘Tojo,’ I said. “‘You’re dead right. And look,’ he gripped my hand, ‘we can’t fight Tojo and one another at the same time, so what do you say we don’t tell anybody we’re both from Pineville?’ “‘That’s okay with me,’ I said. ‘The telling part, I mean. But anyway we’re from the same old town, all the same, and that’s the next thing to coming from the same family, so if I ever see two fellows in trouble, and one’s you, I’m going to help you first.’ “‘Same here.’ He pumped my hand up and down. “Well, what do you think of it, Stew?” Jack asked after a time. “Strikes me you’re two grand guys,” said Stew. “But what about that girl Patsy?”