Dave Dawson on Guadalcanal

by Robert Sidney Bowen

The faint attempt to wisecrack was completely lost on the flat-faced Jap. Which was of course to be expected, for included in the countless things that the Japanese people do not possess is a sense of humor. Even a joke that would send an Englishman into fits of laughter would sail right over a Jap's thick-boned head. So the Admiral simply wagged his head from side to side gravely, and made a little shaking motion with the index finger of his right hand.

"That is not the truth," he said in his soft sing-song voice. "The name of your carrier was either the Carson, or the Hawk. They were both in a task force sighted two days ago. You come from one of those carriers, so it is proved that that force has moved up into waters considerably north of where it was two days ago."

"That's what we've been saying," Freddy Farmer shot at him. "The Carson, the Hawk, and you can guess how many other carriers. But much, much farther north than you suspect."

The Jap started to wag his head again gravely, but at that instant an inspiration which might enable him to regain a little of the beans he had spilled clicked in Dawson's brain. He held up a hand to check whatever the Jap Admiral was about to say.

"Just a minute, Admiral Sasebo!" he cried out. "Think what you like, but do some thinking. The war for my pal and me is all over. Ten to one we'll never leave this ship alive. And how! The whole darn world knows what you Japs do to pilots you capture. Okay! We took our chances, and we lost. So all that's left is the chance to rub it into you a bit, because you're headed for a loss, too, see? Think I'm kidding. All right, then, get this! Get hold of that double-crossing flying ape of yours who shot us down, and ask him—what direction was our plane flying when he shot us down! Go ahead, ask him that, and he'll tell you south! And if he had his eyes open he probably saw us dump our gas hoping that the empty tank would keep us afloat longer. But it was punctured, so the plane sank in a hurry. But here's the point. Ask him about how much gas he saw us dump to empty the tank. If he can't tell you, I can. It was practically a full tank! So figure it out, Admiral, figure it out. We were flying south with practically a full tank. Flying back to our carrier? Not a chance! We were scouting out from our carrier trying to find out if your force, this force right here, was trailing us up north!"

Dawson emphasized his words with a violent nod of his head. And then he added just one more word jab for good measure.

"Okay. Throw us to the sharks. We're all washed up. But at least we've had the satisfaction of having the horse laugh on you. And what a horse laugh, as you'll soon find out!"

As Dawson got the last off his lips he instinctively steeled himself and waited for the Jap Admiral to start screaming his head off. However, if he expected the Nippon killer to fly into a tantrum he was doomed to disappointment. Suicide Sasebo simply stared at him expressionlessly for a long, long time. Then he spoke in his native tongue, but his words were addressed to the big Jap standing just in back of the two air aces. Yet he held them with his eyes all the time he spoke.

A few moments of silence followed his words, and then the big Jap spoke. A flicker of light, or something, seemed to pass across the Admiral's face. And then he spoke for the second time. The big Jap made hissing sounds, bowed low, and then took hold of Dawson's arm and Freddy Farmer's arm with fingers of steel, and turned them around and led them out into the companionway.

Bewilderment and a faint sense of uneasiness welled up in Dawson, for he had no idea what the two Japs had spoken to each other. And if only he did know! It would save so much for Freddy Farmer and himself. The first time Sasebo spoke he had ordered the big one to take the two prisoners down onto the flight deck, shoot them, and toss their bodies over the side. But he had only spoken thus to see if either of the prisoners understood Japanese. And when he realized that they did not, and the big Jap had made a polite suggestion, he had agreed at once, given the necessary instructions, and then ordered the two air aces to be taken away.