General von Peiplow smiled at Freddy, but there was no warmth in his smile, and less in his eyes. The deep rooted hatred for a superior race glittered in their depths.
"It is plain to see that you are truly English to the very core!" the German presently snapped. "Nothing but lies, and more lies, come from your lips. No wonder your country is doomed to defeat by German arms. I will correct your lies. Not one of those British Lockheed Hudsons returned to its base last Tuesday night. They were all destroyed. I saw that with my own eyes, for it was I who had charge of destroying them! And Air Ministry did not send them over to this spot. They were high and on their way farther inland when they suddenly met their doom. No, it was something else that sent you three straight to this area today. As for your comrade, the third one? Believe he escaped back, to England, if you wish. I am telling you, though, that he is dead!"
General von Peiplow directed a curt nod at Freddy Farmer, and then turned his attention to Dave.
"And now that message," he said. "What message? Where did it come from, and who...?"
The German suddenly stopped, and his eyes flew open wide in amazed consternation.
"That swine I sent back?" he choked as though questioning himself. Then with a vicious shake of his head, "But that is impossible! Impossible! He was dead, and he had been thoroughly searched."
Dave leaped at the opportunity presented as General von Peiplow let his voice trail off and sat scowling into space.
"Stay with it, General!" Dave said. "You're getting close! You're getting mighty warm. Just stay with that poor fellow you murdered and dumped out over England. Give up? Want a little bit of a clue?"
The Nazi Luftwaffe high ranker seemed not to hear Dave. He stared at space for a moment longer, then suddenly dug two fingers into his tunic pocket and pulled out a wrinkled bit of paper. Dave, seeing it, caught his breath sharply, and impulsively started to reach into his own tunic pocket. The paper von Peiplow held in his hand was the pencil drawn map Colonel Trevor had given Dave before the take-off from Eighty-Four's field. It didn't require a single guess to know that Freddy and he had been thoroughly searched while they were unconscious.
Von Peiplow studied the map a moment and then looked up at Dave.