moved in on them quickly, and searched for weapons. They found none, and
were obviously disappointed. Then a shrill order in sing-song Japanese
snapped the look of disappointment from their slant-eyed faces. They
grunted at the two boys and then nodded toward the conning tower bridge
where the Nazi commander of the craft stood waiting. They went over and
up the short companion ladder with a couple of Japs sticking
conveniently at their heels. They halted in front of the bull-necked
German, who eyed them as though he'd never seen a couple of white men in
his life before. Which, of course, was quite possible, in view of the
fact he was of German birth.
Then, suddenly, he exploded in a booming voice that almost blew the boys
over.
"What's the name of your carrier?" he thundered. "And how long ago were
you shot down?"
Dawson hesitated a moment, and then let him have it. In a very meek and
humble voice, too.
"We weren't assigned to any special carrier, sir," he said. "We flew off
any one of the five of them. And we've been in the water for about a
week now. No, call it an even eight days."
The Nazi's eyes widened and he blinked them hard.
"What's this?" he cried.
Before he could get his breath to say anything else, one of the Jap
naval officers stepped forward.
"He lies, _Kommandant_," he said in perfect German. "All American pigs
lie. The United States have not five carriers left in all of their navy.
Besides, we know these two were shot down by our plane yesterday."
The two words "our plane" had all of the effect on Dawson of a swift
punch to the jaw. Impulsively he raced his eyes along the length of the
U-boat, and particularly the forward end. It was then that he spotted
telltale objects that told him the truth, and cleared up a little of the
mystery of yesterday's meeting in the air with that strange seaplane. In
short, he saw a plane hoist secured to the port side of the forward
deck. It was fastened down in a horizontal position, but it could be
raised upright at a moment's notice. He also saw that just about the
entire forward deck consisted of two hatch covers that could be folded
back to make a good sized opening in the deck. And although he could not
look down through the steel plates to what was below, he had the very
definite feeling that stowed neatly in the forward hold of the U-boat
was that strange type seaplane with its wings folded back.
Airplane-carrying submarines were nothing new to Dawson, or to Freddy
Farmer, either. But it was a bit of a shock to realize that they had
been shot down by such a craft. And, also, that they had been rescued by
the mother U-boat of the plane.
"Yes, yes, I know!" Dawson heard the Nazi commander grunt impatiently at
the Jap. "Of course our plane shot them down. But you do not know these
American dogs as I do. Let them lie long enough and before they realize
it they are telling you the truth. You will see what I mean. Well, take
them to my quarters, and wait. This is a bad hour to remain on the
surface too long. We will submerge at once."
The Nazi had spoken in German, and both Dawson and Freddy Farmer
understood him perfectly. However, both were very careful not to let
that fact show in their faces. As a matter of fact, they stared
puzzle-eyed at the Nazi and then looked enquiringly at each other. The
Nazi saw them do that and laughed harshly.
"Do not worry, swine," he spoke in harsh English. "When the Fuehrer is
in your White House all of you American dogs will be taught to speak
German. There will be but one language then. German!"
The Nazi nodded violently, and then snapped a glittering eye at the Jap
naval officer as though inviting him to take issue with his words. The
Jap, however, refused to take issue. He simply smiled politely and then
motioned for Dave and Freddy to climb over the lip of the conning tower
hatch and start down inside the boat. When they reached the bottom of
the conning tower ladder which ended in the central control room, and
nerve center of the U-boat, the Jap didn't give them so much as half a
chance to look around. He had his gun out then, and he jabbed them both
hard in the back and pointed aft. The pain from the jab made
firecrackers go off in Dave's brain. And for one crazy instant he was
tempted to wheel around and drive both fists into that slant-eyed,
hateful face. Common sense, however, came to his rescue instantly and he
checked the urge and went stumbling along in step with Freddy Farmer.
When they were about half-way aft along the narrow companionway, the Jap
halted them and more or less pushed and shoved them into a fairly good
sized cabin. The hundred and one different smells of the insides of a
submarine were just as heavy and noticeable there as they had been in
the control room. However, Dawson could not help gasping impulsively at
the luxuriousness of the fittings and furnishings. He had been in other
Nazi U-boats, but never in one in which the commander had fitted himself
out so proudly as this one. For a second he wondered if the Nazis had
been forced to "doll up" their U-boats to get commanders and crews to
take them out on their hazardous voyages. On second thought, though, he
decided that all this was simply a Nazi touch to impress their comrades
in cold murder, the Japanese.
Just the same, the cabin was certainly well appointed, and Dave secretly
hoped the Nazi would question them for quite some time so that he would
have a good chance to relax and get a lot of the salt water and sun
stiffness out of his joints. But he experienced a very rude awakening
even as he was expressing that hope to himself and starting to sit down
in one of the fancy chairs. The Jap's gun came out fast and cracked him
hard on the side of the head.
"Dog!" the slant-eyed one screamed. "How dare you seat yourself in the
presence of an officer of the Imperial Japanese Navy! Stand on your
feet. Over there, by the door. Move a muscle and I will take greatest
pleasure in shooting you."
With a tremendous effort Dawson forced back the surging, blazing anger
that rose up in his throat to choke him. Then he joined Freddy by the
door and stood there with his gaze fixed hard and unwinking on the Jap.
The little brown rat sneered and leered, and tried to stare Dawson down.
He didn't even get to first base, though. And presently it was he who
lowered his eyes. And so that was the picture as there came clanking
sounds and roared out orders from various directions inside the U-boat.
A moment later the craft trembled and shook from end to end. And Dave
felt the deck under his feet slant as the craft dived and went under
water.
Three, four, five minutes ticked by, and then the Nazi commander pushed
through the door inside. He seemed surprised to see Dawson and Farmer
standing stiff as a couple of wooden Indians by the door. He glanced
sharply at the Jap, and made sounds under his breath. Then he went over
and dropped his big frame into a chair, and sat regarding the two youths
out of wide set eyes that held nothing but the look of death in them.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
_Give and Take_
"Well, my little fool friends! You don't seem to realize that I have
saved your useless lives, do you? Well, I have, and you should be very
grateful and thankful. None of your swine comrades would have come into
these waters to pick you up."
The Nazi had stared so long, and been silent for so long, that the
sudden explosion of his voice made both youths start a little. Dawson
quickly got control of himself, and shrugged.
"We're very glad to be rescued," he said in a flat voice. "But in
another couple of days the fleet would have been back from up north, and
we'd probably have been sighted."
The Nazi arched his eyebrows and looked politely impressed. That is,
save for his eyes. In their depths flickered pin points of polished
steel.
"From up north, eh?" he murmured. "All the five carriers are returning
in two days, yes?"
"That was the plan of operation, and--" Dave said, and then stopped
himself, and bit his lip.
Freddy Farmer had of course been waiting for just such an opening, and
he quickly took advantage of it.
"Keep your mouth shut, Dave!" he cried in an expert burst of anger.
"Besides, it all depends upon their rendezvous with Task Forces Seven
and Ten."
"Now who's blabbing?" Dave snarled, and whirled on him. "Why don't you
keep your big mouth shut, too?"
Freddy started to make a blistering retort but simply went through the
facial motions of being about to say it.
"Oh, what does it matter, anyway?" he finally said sullenly. "If they've
been patrolling these waters they know as much about these things as we
do. Quite a bit more, I fancy."
"Ah!" the Nazi breathed hard. "So you are English, yes? Now I understand
your words. The English always quit before the battle is completely
lost. Look at Dunkirk. They ran from us there. And Greece, and Crete.
And even at Singapore and Malaya you ran from the brave Japanese. Yes,
yes. What does it matter now? You English know in your dirty hearts that
you can never win!"
Real, honest to goodness anger blazed up in Freddy's face, and for one
terrible moment Dawson feared that his English pal was going to hurl
himself bare-handed at the Nazi. Freddy, however, managed to keep a firm
grip on himself, and he eyed the German coldly.
"The opinion of a Nazi is unimportant," he said in a scathing voice. "It
always has been among the peoples of the civilized world."
The U-boat commander, however, was not to be excited into anything.
Perhaps he was too comfortable in his chair. Perhaps for once in his
baby-killing life he decided that brute violence wouldn't gain him what
he wanted. So instead he laughed at Freddy as one might laugh at a
little boy who has suddenly flown into a childish tantrum.
"Even save the life of an Englishman, and he is still an ungrateful
dog," he finally sneered. "But all this does not interest me. So you
have five carriers, eh? And they are up north meeting two other task
forces, eh? That _is_ interesting. What are they doing up there?"
Dave looked at the scowling Jap naval officer, grinned, and then
returned his gaze to the Nazi's face. He shrugged and gave a little
shake of his head.
"I don't know," he said. "Maybe it's Tokyo, and _for keeps_ this time.
We were to get our orders later."
The Jap made a sound like air coming out of a punctured tire, and wild
hatred seemed to come out all over him in lumps.
"Lies, all lies!" he screamed. "Never again will Tokyo be bombed by you
American dogs. We have seen to it, yes! You will all be dead and in the
water before you even sight our shores!"
Dawson shrugged again but kept his gaze on the German's face.
"Were you on the surface for very long last night?" he suddenly asked.
The Nazi started, and blinked.
"What?" he demanded. "What's that?"
"I asked if you were on the surface much last night?" Dave repeated.
"Was your radio open all the time?"
The German hesitated as though reluctant to reveal even that bit of
utterly useless information. Then he made up his mind, and nodded
curtly.
"Yes, we were," he said. "And the radio was open. Why?"
"You didn't hear the Tokyo station, did you, by any chance?" Dave asked
softly, and leaned forward slightly. "Did you hear _any_ Tokyo
broadcast? Say from midnight on?"
The Jap hissed some more, but Dawson didn't so much as look at him. He
kept staring at the Nazi, who was all scowls now. And there was a queer,
unfathomable look in his eyes. Then suddenly he blurted out the
question.
"You mean that Tokyo was bombed last night?"
Dawson calmly hunched one shoulder and gestured with his two hands,
palms upward.
"Maybe it wasn't Tokyo," he said quietly. "We didn't have a radio in our
raft. Maybe other objectives were selected at the last minute. I just
thought that maybe you had heard, and could tell me. Then you didn't
hear the Tokyo radio last night, eh? And maybe it was _off_ the air?"
"Lies, all lies!" the Jap screamed again, and actually jumped up and
down in his fury. "Not one enemy bomber will ever get within sight of
our shores."
Dave was tempted to turn and snap, "Quiet! small fry!" but instead he
kept looking at the Nazi commander. He could tell that the German had a
head full of thoughts, all bad. He and Freddy had planted the seeds of
doubt and worry in the German's brain. And if they played it very
carefully they might do more to help the Guadalcanal attack from right
here in the U-boat than they would have if they had been able to make a
hundred scouting patrols off the flight deck of the carrier Carson. At
any rate, it was plain to see from the Nazi's face that the little
"tete-a-tete" wasn't exactly working out the way he had planned.
Something had gone off the track somewhere along the line.
Suddenly the Nazi took his eyes off Dawson and looked at the Jap.
"Watch these two, and don't lose your head," he spoke in German. "For
the present they are more valuable alive. I am going to surface, if it's
clear, and see if there is anything on the radio. I won't be long."
The Nazi nodded, pushed up onto his feet and brushed past Dawson and
Farmer and out the door. For the first couple of seconds after that Dave
held his breath and watched the Jap out the corner of his eye. It was
all very well for the Nazi commander to warn the slant-eyed one not to
go off half cockeyed, but that didn't mean that the killer wouldn't
revert to type at the drop of the hat. As it was, he was still
trembling with savage anger, and there was definitely cold, ruthless
slaughter in his glittering eyes. However, the first few moments ticked
by, and nothing happened. The Jap just stared at them like a hesitant
cobra, and that's as far as it went.
Ten minutes, that seemed to take ten years in passing, finally came to
an end. Then the door was opened and the Nazi commander came back
inside. Dawson looked quickly at his face, and was more than pleased
with what he saw. The scowl on the Nazi's face was darker than ever, and
he had all the appearance of a man who has received a setback that he
can't quite understand. It was on the tip of Dave's tongue to ask if he
had heard anything on the radio, but he remembered just in time that
neither Freddy or himself were supposed to understand German. Therefore
he just kept his mouth shut, and silently waited. And he didn't have to
wait long. The Nazi looked at the Jap and shook his head.
"Nothing!" he growled. "Too much static. I could not even raise Admiral
Sasebo's flagship. The air is full of nothing but whines and squeals."
At the mention of the name, Admiral Sasebo, Dawson jumped inwardly. And
he could almost feel Freddy Farmer start at the mention of the name,
too. Out there in the Southwest Pacific that Jap Navy man had "won" for
himself the title of "Suicide" Sasebo. Losses meant nothing to him. To
gain and hold an objective was all that mattered, regardless of whether
the objective was important or not. Once on a Tokyo scare broadcast to
the world, Sasebo had stated, "We will win because we are prepared to
lose ten million soldiers, if we have to." And that was exactly the way
Admiral Sasebo had fought his part of the war. He was a madman who never
stopped to count the cost in troops, and ships, and planes, and
equipment. In time, if he still held his high office, he would lose the
war for Japan by simply bleeding his country white. But though he
constantly sacrificed thousands of his own forces, that did not mean he
didn't inflict damage. He did. And so, if Admiral Sasebo was at sea, and
on the loose again, it could well mean a lot of trouble, and then some.
"Perhaps you can make the contact later, _Herr Kommandant_," the Jap's
voice cut through Dawson's thoughts. "But what about these two dogs.
They speak nothing but lies. That's all they know. Nothing but lies. All
Americans are stupid fools. I should have killed them yesterday when
they were in the water."
Once again Dawson started inwardly, and in spite of himself he shot the
Jap an agate-eyed stare. Fortunately the so-called Son of Heaven's
follower was not looking at him, and so did not see that Dawson
understood the words he spoke in German. Just the same, the realization
that this slant-eyed, pint-sized rat had been in that tricky seaplane
yesterday was a shock to Dawson. He recovered from his shock instantly,
though, and longed for about five minutes with that double-crossing Jap
in a locked room. He had a score to pay off, and he would have liked
nothing better than the opportunity to do just that.
However, for the present, it was just so much wishful thinking as far as
Dawson was concerned. Also, there were other things of far more
importance than the item of knocking that Jap for a flock of outside
loops. As a matter of fact, when the Nazi commander spoke again Dawson
completely forgot about his private war with the Jap naval officer.
"That may be as you say," the Nazi said, addressing himself to the Jap.
"These two may be young fools, like their countrymen. However, even
fools can be useful. That is why I ordered you to trick them down into
the water yesterday. Their plane was of the type used on American
carriers. That proves that an American carrier force was not more than
a few hundred miles distance from the point where you shot them down.
But just exactly where? Is that force south of here and advancing
through waters we control? Or have they spoken the truth, and is it
north on some mission we know nothing about? We must obtain the answer
to one or both of those questions, Honorable Comrade, you see?"
The Jap made a face and waved one hand in a careless gesture.
"I speak as a Japanese, and laugh in their faces!" he replied with a
hissing note in his voice. "Where they are, or what they plan to do, is
of no matter. They are doomed. The mighty forces of the Emperor will
crush them. If they have a force moving north, Admiral Sasebo will trap
them and cut them to pieces. And if their force is already north of us,
then Admiral Kusiro will shoot their planes into the sea, and sink all
of their ships. Japan is too strong for her enemies. We have already
proved that many times."
"Yes, true, of course," the Nazi commander said as though he were trying
to soothe an upstart brat. "But unless we know everything, it may make
it difficult for Admiral Sasebo's force. The American attack on
Guadalcanal is to start soon. Perhaps it has already begun. If Admiral
Sasebo is to wipe out any successes the Americans might gain, and
annihilate their forces, and cut off all reenforcements, he must have
knowledge of what is going on _elsewhere_. For him to run into an
unknown enemy task force might complicate things a lot. At least it
would bring about a serious delay in his own operations. If we can aid
him in any way, we must. That was what I was thinking of yesterday when
we surfaced and sighted their plane on scout patrol."
The Jap nodded reluctantly and spoke something in reply, but it was lost
on Dawson's ears for the simple reason that his brain was spinning, and
his head filled with roaring sound. _The Japs knew of the American plans
to attack Guadalcanal!_ That bit of news just about knocked him off his
feet, and for a few seconds he could hardly breathe, much less think.
And when his brain started functioning again, every thought was like a
twisting knife buried deep in his heart.
The Japs knew of the American plan to attack Guadalcanal! Admiral
"Suicide" Sasebo was obviously on his way with a huge task force to
catch the Americans by surprise and wipe them out completely before
sufficient reenforcements could be rushed to the Solomons. Sasebo's
force was headed southward, and Admiral Jackson's task force was coming
up from the south to intercept. Maybe they wouldn't meet. Maybe the Japs
would pass right on by and leave Jackson's ships and planes searching an
empty ocean. It might be a case of check and double-check, but the
breaks were mostly on Suicide Sasebo's side. _He_ knew what the
Americans were up to, and the Yanks _didn't_ know Sasebo's reason for
moving southward from Truk. In fact, they didn't know _for sure_ that
Sasebo _was moving south_, to say nothing of smashing the American
attack on Guadalcanal and Tulagi.
A hundred and one thunderbolts were crashing through Dawson's brain. He
didn't even dare glance sidewise at Freddy Farmer's face for fear he
would see there the expression of wild alarm he was struggling to keep
from showing on his own face. And then, suddenly, he became conscious of
the U-boat commander speaking to the Jap again.
"... And we Germans have ways to make our prisoners talk, too," he was
saying. "But I do not think that is best, right now. Tonight we will
make a rendezvous with Admiral Sasebo's force. However, it is several
hours until night. Also, even though we should get them to tell us what
we should know, the radio might still be jammed with static. And so I
think it is best for you to take them to Admiral Sasebo. Then he can do
as he wishes. Meanwhile I will continue to patrol this area. And perhaps
at the rendezvous I will have something interesting to report. Yes, I
think the best plan is to surface, and launch the seaplane, and fly them
direct to Admiral Sasebo's ship."
CHAPTER TWELVE
_Helpless Heroes_
A brief moment of tingling silence seemed to hover in the air right
after the Nazi U-boat commander stopped speaking. Then the Jap made more
of his punctured tire hissing sound and bobbed his head violently.
"Yes, a very good plan, _Herr Kommandant_," he said in the other's
tongue. "I, myself, will fly them to the illustrious Admiral's ship, and
obey his commands. He will learn all there is to learn, I can promise
you. There is no one in all Japan so clever as the Honorable Admiral.
And tonight he will receive you with praise. That I can promise, too. I
have often heard it said that he admires you most of all your countrymen
your Honorable Fuehrer has sent to assist us."
That last statement was proof that the slant-eyed Jap was no dope. He
knew how to soft-soap the Nazi square-head type, and the feeling of
uneasiness in Dawson increased considerably. He half wished the Nazi
would change his mind and decide to keep Freddy and him prisoners aboard
the U-boat. There was something in the Jap's face that didn't make him
feel even a little satisfied. On the contrary, he wondered plenty _if_
the Jap _would_ fly them to Sasebo's ship! Neither Freddy nor himself
had sold the Jap a thing, as they had the Nazi. Ten to one the Son of
Nippon secretly regarded them as just two humans to slaughter at will,
and with much pleasure. And so, steeling himself inwardly, and bearing
down hard to keep any of his feelings from showing on his face, Dave
waited for the next move in this game of life and death in which those
favoring death had most of the chips.
"I am honored to learn that your Honorable Admiral thinks so highly of
me," the Nazi said as his chest puffed out a little. "And the feeling is
mutual, I assure you. Good, then. You will fly these two to the Admiral,
and we will meet again tonight. We'll--"
The Nazi paused, frowned at his wrist watch, and then nodded.
"In an hour," he said, looking back at the Jap. "We will run submerged
for an hour longer. Then we will surface, and if all is well we will
launch the plane. In the meantime you can lock them up forward. They
will be safe, if _not_ comfortable, in that empty stores compartment
forward. Lock them up, and then come back and join me in an officer's
toast to your Emperor, and to my Fuehrer."
The Jap beamed like a joyful rattlesnake and made a stiff, jerky bow
from the waist. Then he quickly became the very, very tough little guy.
He waved his gun at Dawson and Freddy and screamed an order.
"Go outside, dogs! We have no further use for you! Go outside and in the
direction I order. Move, before I shoot you where you stand!"
The Jap spoke in English that time, and so, with a forced look of
bewilderment on his face, Dawson turned and led the way out into the
companionway. Perhaps Freddy took just a little too long to follow.
Anyway, Dave heard the slap of the Jap's gun against his pal's head and
a split second later the English youth stumbled against him in a
desperate effort to remain on his feet. He succeeded, and a few minutes
later they were shoved through a door into pitch darkness, the door was
clanged shut behind, and the rasping sound of the twisting lock key
grated on their ears.
"You hurt bad, Freddy?" Dave asked anxiously as he stood motionless in
the dark.
"Fancy I'll survive!" Freddy replied bitterly. "The dirty beggar. Man! I
never thought I'd ever be able to enjoy killing a man. But I'm sure I'd
enjoy killing that filthy swine!"