As Jack mounted the steps to the Commander’s bridge, twenty-five feet above the flight deck, he thought how strange life aboard a carrier would seem to those who had never put to sea as a navy pilot. Routine was strictly adhered to. When a flight of planes came in from a practice flight, they came down in perfect formation like a flock of wild geese landing on a pond. Strict discipline, yes, he told himself, yet here I am following our Commander to his bridge, and it doesn’t seem a bit strange; for he’s one of us. We’re all one, all dressed in khaki, all tanned, trained to the last degree, ready to act as a unit to beat the Japs. “Life on a carrier surely is grand, sir!” he said aloud. “Yes, son,” the hardy old Commander rumbled. “There’s never been anything like it before.” “Never has, sir,” Jack agreed. “And now,” said the Commander as they reached the bridge, “there’s your Navy task force on a moonless night. Have a seat. Take it all in. I’m going to do a little meditating on the reality of the Absolute.” He laughed, and Jack laughed with him. Jack didn’t know who or what the Absolute might be, but he did know that the Commander was giving him a real treat, and that was enough for him. It was strange sitting up there feeling the throb of the ship’s mighty engines, looking away at the blacker-than-black sea, and knowing that they were racing along at twenty knots an hour toward some sort of real trouble. “Spooky,” he thought. And indeed, it was just that, for they were definitely in Jap waters. Everyone expected a fight at dawn. If some Jap snooper plane or submarine sighted them now, there would be a mighty battle. To the right and a little ahead he caught a white gleam on the water. “That’s the _Black Knight_,” he told himself. The _Black Knight_ was a fast and powerful cruiser. Three other cruisers, always close to the carrier but not too close, sped along with them. Six destroyers lay farther out. “What a lot of power, sir!” Jack said aloud as the Commander strode past him. “What? Yes, a lot of striking power,” the Commander agreed. “We’re likely to need it, too. They say the Jap navy won’t come out and fight. You can’t count on that. They’re sly rascals, those Japs. They might pounce on us with double our striking power any time. They....” “What’s that, sir?” Jack broke in. “What’s what?” The Commander paused. “Don’t you hear it, sir?” Jack asked. “It’s like the howl of a dog, or a train whistle far away.” “All I hear is that banjo on the after deck,” the Commander laughed low. “It’s not that, nor anything like it.” Jack was in dead earnest. “It’s nothing on this ship. It comes from far away, sir. Listen hard.” “You have good ears,” said the Commander. “Radio ears, perhaps. They say there are people who can pick radio messages right out of the air with their unaided ears. I’ve never believed that, but—say!” His voice rose. “I think I do hear something out there!”