Angry annoyance flooded Freddy Farmer's face as he leaned well forward.
"Where's your brains, Dave?" he snapped. "Of course they did! And if you want to know what I think, they went south quite a bit to hang in the sky and wait to see if we go south, too. And if you don't think that Kashomia has powerful glasses on us right now, and is in radio contact with those Nakajimas, then you're completely out of your head. So for heaven's sake, let's at least start north toward Pidang!"
Dave gulped, blushed to the roots of his hair, and went through the motions of tipping his hat.
"Hail to you, brilliant one!" he said. "Your humble servant is truly one fat headed dope. Sure! You've got something there, and how, Freddy. If we head for Singapore we tip our hand. Kashomia realizes that we're phonies. He radioes his little boys, and the four of them drop down on us to.... Omigosh, Freddy! You are doggone right! That darn Jap rat has fixed us nice!"
"Done what?" the English youth echoed. "What are you talking about?"
Dave didn't reply. Instead he pointed at the empty ammunition boxes that fed his forward guns. They were all empty!
"Good Lord!" came Freddy Farmer's hoarse exclamation a moment later. "So are my guns back here, Dave. We haven't got a single bullet between us!"
"So we darn well do head north!" Dave said grimly and swung the Albacore around. "And maybe, please God, be able to slip around on a detour and slide by those four Nakajimas that are sure as shooting waiting for us between here and Singapore!"
"Amen!" Freddy Farmer murmured, stiff lipped.