"Well, I'm damned," Craig said.
"Does that mean I can go?"
"It does not!" Craig said emphatically. "It means I'm astonished that you should have taken such sudden leave of your senses."
"Why can't I go?" she challenged.
"Because you're a girl," he answered. "And because you would be in the way. No sale, Margy. Not today and not any other day if I have anything to say about it. You stay here where you belong."
"You damned men have all the fun," the girl said bitterly, turning on her heel. Craig watched her walk directly to Captain Higgins and make the same request and he observed the astonishment of that naval officer. But in spite of his astonishment, the captain was quite able to say "No."
The last he saw of her, she was leaning over the rail watching the small boat put out for shore. He waved at her. She thumbed her nose in reply.
Looking back as they neared the shore, Craig saw she was still standing at the rail. He also heard the boom of the ship's catapult and saw a plane launched into the air. Captain Higgins was sending out a plane to scout the surrounding area. Craig knew what the captain was worried about—the place from which those cursed silent airplanes came.
High in the sky, he could see one of the silent floaters keeping its vigil over the Idaho.
"We'll cross the swamp and reach the hills," Craig directed.