“That’s a deal,” Dave said, and gave them a friendly grin. “If we stay the night we won’t do any sight-seeing after dark. Well, we’ll be seeing you again. So long, for now.”
CHAPTER TEN
Freddy Stubs His Toe
Major Larkin, Commandant of the Albuquerque Air Base, was the kind of a man who looked as if he had been cut out of solid granite, and fitted up with coiled steel springs. And under the silver wings on his tunic was a row of decoration ribbons that proved he was also the kind of a man who lived up to his looks. But the smile of greeting he gave to Dave and Freddy was genuine enough, and his hand shake was warm and friendly.
“Assigned for duty with the Ninety-Sixth in the Canal Zone, eh?” he said, and tapped the official orders on his desk. “Well, that’s a great spot for flying. A fine bunch of boys down there, too. Wish I were going along with you. Well, get an extra U-boat for me, will you?”
“We’ll do our best, sir,” Dave said with a grin. “And—well, when do we leave, sir?”
“Anxious to get going, eh?” the Base Commandant echoed with a chuckle. “Well, tomorrow morning. A half dozen ferry bombers are sitting down here for refueling tomorrow. Then from here to Brownsville, Texas. And then the water jump to the Canal Zone. Will that be okay with you two? That’s the fastest service I can give you, to the Canal Zone by ferry bomber.”
Dave and Freddy exchanged startled glances. It wasn’t usual for high ranking officers to ask if such and such a thing were okay. Major Larkin saw the exchange of looks and chuckled softly.
“I read all the papers, and of course the communiques,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes. “Seems to me I recall something about two lads named Dawson and Farmer doing a pretty good job against the Japs trying to break up that Marshall Islands show we had a while back. And I think I remember, too, that long before that those same two did all right on a couple of R.A.F. Intelligence jobs. But of course, it could have been two other fellows.”