Dave gave him a startled glance and shook his head at the same time.
"I give up," he said. "I haven't the faintest idea. But you always were the military expert on this team, so tell me. Why?"
"It's just a guess, of course," the English youth said, after a long pause. "Maybe a crazy one, too. Somehow, though, I have the feeling that the Nazis or the Italians over there are taking no chances on being spotted by any possible British plane out on long distance reconnaissance. Now, if one of our ships were way up there in the sky somewhere, he wouldn't give a thought to seeing an Italian plane swoop down low like that chap we just saw. However, he would prick up his ears if he saw the plane land. He'd at least get curious enough to slide down himself to see if it was only a forced landing. Therefore I think that Italian pilot had orders not to land; to drop whatever he had to deliver, and not deliver it by hand. Are you getting a little bit of what I mean, now?"
Dave nodded and stared intently at his English pal. Count on good old Freddy Farmer to dig down and ferret around for the true meaning of everything that appeared strange and mysterious. He had a mind like a steel trap, and more than once his mental ferreting around ahead of time had helped them out of a tight corner later.
"Yes, I'm beginning to catch on," Dave said presently. "In fact, I'm getting a couple of ideas of my own. I don't know what that Italian pilot dropped, but it certainly wasn't food, and it wasn't ammunition. The box, or whatever it was, wasn't big enough."
"And so?" Freddy echoed as Dave hesitated and scowled off into space.
"And so maybe that's no ordinary desert outpost," Dave finally said. "Maybe there are important people there—I mean, important military people. Do you know something, Freddy?"
"'Way ahead of you, Dave, as you would say," Freddy interrupted with a grin. "Important military people means staff headquarters. Yes, we're probably crazy, Dave. Both of us may be completely out of our heads, but I'll bet you the Bank of England against your oldest pair of flying boots that that spot over there is some kind of field headquarters for enemy troops in this area of the desert."
"Enemy troops in this area?" Dave echoed, and gave a wave of his hand that included the surrounding desert. "Troops where? You mean the force that's right over there where we're looking, don't you?"
Freddy shook his head and gave a stubborn tilt to his chin.