“Good work!” he exclaimed, once again roaring aloft. Other torpedo planes were coming in. Kentucky’s trio was strafing them, but still they came. “Only one hit so far. They’re thinning!” Jack exclaimed. “If my—” “There! That’s the one! We’ve got to get that one!” Once again the Jap came whirling in. This time nothing stopped the enemy, that is, nothing but the fire from Jack’s twin guns. The big plane nosed down into the sea. “That’s got them!” Jack breathed deeply as he passed out of range of the _Black Bee’s_ fire. “Ted crashed!” Stew declared. “I saw him go down. Not a bad crash, but his ship’s gone.” “Where?” Jack demanded. “Over there to the right.” The jet plane banked, then sped away. “There he is!” Stew exclaimed. A moment more and Jack’s plane was taxiing in close to Ted’s wrecked fighter. Ted sat astride the fuselage, which was all but covered with water. “Are you hurt?” Jack asked. “Not—not so bad,” Ted replied, hesitatingly. “Sort of got a bump or two.” “Climb over and help him onto our plane,” Jack said. Stew was on the sinking plane in an instant. A moment more and they were rising from the water. Nearing the _Black Bee_, Jack signaled that he had a wounded man and was coming aboard. He got the all-clear at once. The first person to reach the plane was Mary. She had seen it all. There was a look on her face that Jack had never seen there before as she called, “Ted! Is he badly injured?” “He’ll pull through,” Jack admitted. “But why only Ted? Can’t you give another fellow a smile?” “Jack, I could kiss you for saving Ted,” she exclaimed. And that was just what she did. In landing on the sea, and again on the deck of the _Black Bee_, Jack had experienced unusual difficulty in controlling the jet plane, but was at the time too excited to think much about it. When at last he had time to look the plane over, he found that it had, at some time during the fight, been seriously damaged. “You picked up some of our flak,” was the verdict of the commander of the deck crews. “That plane’s through.” When Jack came to his own commander to ask for another plane, the Commander put a hand on his shoulder and in a gruff voice said: “Forget it, boy! You’ve done your part. You’ve pitched five innings, and never a man got to first base. It’s you for the showers.” And so it was showers for Jack and Stew, and sick bay for Ted, with a smiling Mary hovering over him. But the battle went on. Every carrier sent its full quota of dive bombers and torpedo planes to sink ships in the harbor and wreck shore installations. Speedy cruisers, destroyers, and PT boats came in next to put on the finishing touches. After these came troop transports and landing barges. Marines and GI Joes swarmed ashore by the thousands. By late afternoon they were ten miles inland. The battle was won.