"No?" Dawson echoed. "Why not? We won't be able to see much in this dark. And certainly not a Jap submarine, if there's one on the surface."
"I know," Freddy said with a shrug. "But I've got a funny feeling. A flare would light us up nicely, too, you see? Let's play it cautious, what say?"
"Okay, okay," Dave said with a grin. "Maybe you have got something there. Anyway, get back to the port gun slot, and I'll slide us down a bit."
"Right you are," Freddy said, and slid out of the co-pilot's seat and made his way aft.
Dawson had already throttled the four engines, and was sending the Flying Fortress sliding down through the Pacific night sky in a series of ever widening circles. He circled to port so that he could continually keep his eye on the blinking light that grew bigger and bigger as the Fortress lost altitude. And the light kept on sending two sets of letters. The standard SOS and KDJ. A couple of times Dawson was tempted to signal back that they had caught the signals and were coming down to find out what they could do to help. Each time, though, something seemed to stop him from showing the bomber's signal light. He had even switched off the cockpit light, and he was not allowing the engines to show any exhaust plumes that might reveal the Fortress' exact position.
"Guess I must be as jumpy as Freddy!" he grunted to himself. "But maybe it is best to play it safe, even if it must be one of our surface ships down there. There's no telling what can happen next in this cockeyed world. And, boy, Freddy and I should sure know that by now. Yeah! So we'll sneak down and only let them know where we are by what sounds of our engines they can catch."
With a nod for emphasis, he flipped up the switch of the Fortress' inter-com system, and put his lips to the mike.
"Have you hooked this thing up at your end, Freddy?" he asked into what he guessed was a dead wire.
But he was wrong. Young Farmer's voice was in his earphones instantly.
"Yes, Dave. Can you see anything yet, besides the signal flashes?"