The senior officer picked up the service cap filled with folded slips of paper and stepped forward to the edge of the platform.
"Right-o, line up again," he said. Then, with a grin, "If there's another blasted raid alarm, we'll just pretend that we didn't hear it. Mustn't keep you fire eaters in suspense forever, you know. Right-o! Line forms on the left."
The pilots formed a line again. By mutual consent they gave Pilot Officer Parks the number one position, but they didn't bother figuring out who else had had what position in line the first time. They just all sifted into places in back of Parks, and let it go at that. As a matter of fact, Dave found that he was four men in front of Freddy. The pair had become separated during the shuffling into line.
Eventually everything was set. A hushed stillness settled over the Ready Room as Parks dipped his hand into the cap and pulled out a folded slip. He took a step to the side and opened it with trembling fingers. Every other pilot watched his face, and waited expectantly. They saw hope fade into bitter disappointment. The pilot crumbled the slip into a little ball and threw it disgustedly on the deck.
"That's Parks luck for you!" he growled. "A blasted blank!"
"Chin up, old fellow," Group Captain Spencer smiled at him. "Maybe your best pal will draw it. Right you are. Next chap!"
One by one the pilots drew slips from the cap and examined them, full of hope and eagerness. And one by one they were laughed at by Lady Luck just as she had laughed at Pilot Officer Parks. Finally it was Dave Dawson's turn. He reached up his hand, then hesitated and looked down at his other hand to make sure that his fingers were crossed. Group Captain Spencer followed his look, and chuckled softly.
"Did doing that help you in that close shave upstairs, Dawson?" he asked. "If so, I must do it myself from now on. Blessed if I didn't see one of those Jerries stick his machine gun right square in your face, and still he missed you. Oh well, go ahead and draw."
Dave dipped his fingers into the cap, fingered a couple of the folded slips, and then drew one out. His head was singing faintly, and the blood was surging, through his veins as he stepped to the side and unfolded the slip. What he saw, gave him the sensation of a bucket of ice water spilling down over him. The slip was blank on both sides! He grinned weakly, wadded up the slip of paper and flipped it away in disappointed disgust just as the others had done. Then he walked over to a chair and sat down to watch the rest of the drawing.
He stopped watching, and so did everybody else, when Freddy Farmer unfolded the slip he had drawn. The English youth's eager face suddenly lighted up like a Christmas tree, and his hands trembled so much with excitement that the slip fluttered down onto the deck.