“What do you think?” he countered. “They’d certainly love to cut that section of the supply line, wouldn’t they?”
“Oh, quite, sir,” Freddy said with a nod. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, he added, “But I’m afraid, sir, that I don’t agree with you.”
“He’s like that, sir,” Dave said with a chuckle. “An awful stubborn guy with his ideas. And you’d be surprised how often he hits the nail on the head. Yes, sir! Freddy’s a whole lot more than just a pukka fighting pilot.”
“Oh, I say, drop it, will you!” Freddy growled as a flush flooded his cheeks. “Everybody has ideas and opinions of his own, you know. What Dawson really means, sir, is that I haven’t sense enough to keep mine to myself. But we must be taking up your valuable time, sir.”
“Not a bit of it!” Major Larkin said, giving Freddy a searching look. “You don’t agree with me, so that makes me curious. I’d like to know your opinion, really. Why don’t you think the Japs would like to close the Canal?”
“I didn’t say that, sir,” the English born ace replied quickly. “They’d love to, no end. I simply mean that they wouldn’t attempt it. Too far to come, too great a cost for the small amount of damage they’d do. It stands to reason that you Americans aren’t ever going to let another Pearl Harbor happen any place. Oh, the Japs would love to do it, but they can’t. And I fancy they know that better than we do.”
“Then, personally, you don’t expect any attack on the Canal?” Major Larkin murmured with a smile. “The rumors are just hot air?”
“On the contrary, I do expect an attack, sir,” Freddy Farmer said soberly. “But not by the Japs. By the Nazis. In a way they have far more to gain by such an attack than the Japs.”
“How’s that?” Dave broke in. “Make that a little clearer, will you, Freddy?”
“Oh, never mind,” the English youth said, and shrugged. “It’s just a lot of words, and probably not very interesting, or enlightening. Let’s get going, shall we, Dave?”