The men nodded their heads. What they could not understand was how Garret had gotten the job. They felt helpless because they had always depended upon the men at headquarters. Finally the group broke up without anyone offering a workable plan.
Just after noon the next day the O.C. sent for Stan. He was alone in his office and in very good spirits. Stan sat down beside his desk and waited.
“We have a few Hendee Hawks coming in,” Farrell beamed happily. “You are the man to handle them and to show the boys their fine points. In fact, you’re the only man we have who can do it quickly. We need those superfighters badly. Headquarters would like to do a little daylight bombing. Do you think a flight of Hawks could take a squadron of Liberators through?”
“They could,” Stan assured him. “Give me nine Hawks and my pick of pilots and well ride right in over Berlin.”
“You won’t get nine for a while, but we have three coming in.” The Wing Commander seemed interested in what Stan thought of that.
“Three will take a small flight through,” Stan said.
“I have to depend on you, Wilson. Without you, it will take several weeks to get them lined out and set for action.”
“We need train only one man. Allison can learn quickly.” Stan smiled broadly. “O’Malley learned in a couple of flights.”
The O.C. smiled, too. “Yes, your pie-eating friend will handle one, if we can drill some sense into his head.”
“O’Malley’s crazy but it’s the sort of lunacy we need,” Stan answered dryly.