“Yes,” Dave said with a nod. “You’ve got something there, pal. You definitely have. Well, we shall see what we shall see. Right now we’re getting close to the edge of the air patrol area of the Canal Zone. We should be bumping into Army or Navy planes most any minute now.”
“Well, see that you don’t actually bump into them,” Freddy added grimly, and settled back in his seat.
It was just exactly eleven minutes later when two U.S. Naval Aviation patrol amphibians came into Dave’s range of vision. He raised his hand to attract Freddy’s attention and then pointed at the two craft off the left wing and a few miles ahead.
“Yes, I saw them,” the English youth called out. “And as we’re arriving down here unannounced, I hope those blighters don’t do anything serious about it. I hope they don’t take us for a couple of Jap spies on our way to take pictures of the Canal.”
“If they do, I’ll never forgive them!” Dave said with a laugh.
Just the same his eyes narrowed slightly as the two amphibians broke wing tip formation and sheered away from each other so that they would come up on the Vultee, one on either side. And his heart wasn’t exactly beating peacefully in his breast, either. In fact, for a fleeting instant he wondered whether he had been wise to make this sneak flight down to the Canal Zone. Right! There was a very good chance that maybe the gunners aboard those patrolling amphibians might have itching trigger fingers.
So he decided to do something about it first. He banked the Vultee sharply so that he presented a broadside view to the oncoming amphibians, and also showed his Brownsville Base markings. Then he cut around back to present the other side, and stuck his hand up through his opened greenhouse and waved it in greeting.
Then followed a few anxious moments. The two amphibians came plowing onward. They swept past the Vultee one on each side, and Dave could almost feel the pairs of eyes aboard them boring out at him. He waved his hand again, and then throttled to give the two Navy aircraft plenty of time to bank around and come up on him from the rear.
“Unsociable blighters, aren’t they!” Freddy Farmer grunted. “Not a return wave of greeting from either of them.”
“You can’t blame them,” Dave defended them. “They’re on a job that doesn’t call for any kidding around. They have to play it close, and not stick their necks out. But I guess we’ve passed muster. They’re just going to ride herd on us the rest of the way to the Base.”