Dave Dawson on Guadalcanal

by Robert Sidney Bowen

The Nazi nodded, pushed up onto his feet and brushed past Dawson and Farmer and out the door. For the first couple of seconds after that Dave held his breath and watched the Jap out the corner of his eye. It was all very well for the Nazi commander to warn the slant-eyed one not to go off half cockeyed, but that didn't mean that the killer wouldn't revert to type at the drop of the hat. As it was, he was still trembling with savage anger, and there was definitely cold, ruthless slaughter in his glittering eyes. However, the first few moments ticked by, and nothing happened. The Jap just stared at them like a hesitant cobra, and that's as far as it went.

Ten minutes, that seemed to take ten years in passing, finally came to an end. Then the door was opened and the Nazi commander came back inside. Dawson looked quickly at his face, and was more than pleased with what he saw. The scowl on the Nazi's face was darker than ever, and he had all the appearance of a man who has received a setback that he can't quite understand. It was on the tip of Dave's tongue to ask if he had heard anything on the radio, but he remembered just in time that neither Freddy or himself were supposed to understand German. Therefore he just kept his mouth shut, and silently waited. And he didn't have to wait long. The Nazi looked at the Jap and shook his head.

"Nothing!" he growled. "Too much static. I could not even raise Admiral Sasebo's flagship. The air is full of nothing but whines and squeals."

At the mention of the name, Admiral Sasebo, Dawson jumped inwardly. And he could almost feel Freddy Farmer start at the mention of the name, too. Out there in the Southwest Pacific that Jap Navy man had "won" for himself the title of "Suicide" Sasebo. Losses meant nothing to him. To gain and hold an objective was all that mattered, regardless of whether the objective was important or not. Once on a Tokyo scare broadcast to the world, Sasebo had stated, "We will win because we are prepared to lose ten million soldiers, if we have to." And that was exactly the way Admiral Sasebo had fought his part of the war. He was a madman who never stopped to count the cost in troops, and ships, and planes, and equipment. In time, if he still held his high office, he would lose the war for Japan by simply bleeding his country white. But though he constantly sacrificed thousands of his own forces, that did not mean he didn't inflict damage. He did. And so, if Admiral Sasebo was at sea, and on the loose again, it could well mean a lot of trouble, and then some.

"Perhaps you can make the contact later, Herr Kommandant," the Jap's voice cut through Dawson's thoughts. "But what about these two dogs. They speak nothing but lies. That's all they know. Nothing but lies. All Americans are stupid fools. I should have killed them yesterday when they were in the water."

Once again Dawson started inwardly, and in spite of himself he shot the Jap an agate-eyed stare. Fortunately the so-called Son of Heaven's follower was not looking at him, and so did not see that Dawson understood the words he spoke in German. Just the same, the realization that this slant-eyed, pint-sized rat had been in that tricky seaplane yesterday was a shock to Dawson. He recovered from his shock instantly, though, and longed for about five minutes with that double-crossing Jap in a locked room. He had a score to pay off, and he would have liked nothing better than the opportunity to do just that.

However, for the present, it was just so much wishful thinking as far as Dawson was concerned. Also, there were other things of far more importance than the item of knocking that Jap for a flock of outside loops. As a matter of fact, when the Nazi commander spoke again Dawson completely forgot about his private war with the Jap naval officer.

"That may be as you say," the Nazi said, addressing himself to the Jap. "These two may be young fools, like their countrymen. However, even fools can be useful. That is why I ordered you to trick them down into the water yesterday. Their plane was of the type used on American carriers. That proves that an American carrier force was not more than a few hundred miles distance from the point where you shot them down. But just exactly where? Is that force south of here and advancing through waters we control? Or have they spoken the truth, and is it north on some mission we know nothing about? We must obtain the answer to one or both of those questions, Honorable Comrade, you see?"

The Jap made a face and waved one hand in a careless gesture.

"I speak as a Japanese, and laugh in their faces!" he replied with a hissing note in his voice. "Where they are, or what they plan to do, is of no matter. They are doomed. The mighty forces of the Emperor will crush them. If they have a force moving north, Admiral Sasebo will trap them and cut them to pieces. And if their force is already north of us, then Admiral Kusiro will shoot their planes into the sea, and sink all of their ships. Japan is too strong for her enemies. We have already proved that many times."