The young Air Corps lieutenant swung the book around, looked at the two names, and shook his head.
“No sir,” he said. “Nothing for either of you. We received word you’d taken off from Frisco Base. You landed on the way down?”
“No, why?” Dave asked.
The young lieutenant grinned and nodded his head at the clock.
“A Vultee is a pretty fast ship, Captain,” he said.
Dave frowned, and then suddenly the light dawned.
“Oh, sure, I get it,” he said. “We went sight-seeing. This is my Chinese friend’s first visit to this country. I took a little time out to give him a good look.”
The young Air Corps lieutenant was staring puzzle-eyed at Freddy Farmer as the two aces walked out of the office. Outside, Dave took a quick step away from Freddy, and waited for his pal to go into action. But Freddy just kept on walking.
“Be calm, old thing,” Freddy said quietly. “That was a compliment you paid me. The Chinese are a wonderful people. They’ve been proving it to the world for the last five years. So, trot along with me, my funny boy. I won’t hurt you.”
“Smack-o!” Dave grunted as he flushed a little. “I guess that one sort of upped and backfired in my face. Darn right the Chinese are okay. Let’s forget the whole thing, huh?”