"Check with me, too," Dawson said, and groaned softly as he thought of the countless over-water miles they still had to travel before they'd reach Australia, and the countless miles from Darwin to Calcutta, India. "Oh, well, this trip can't last forever."
"For me, it's jolly well lasted that long already!" Freddy sighed, and climbed down out of the Fortress.
Hardly had both of them reached the ground before a headquarters captain came up to them and saluted courteously.
"Captains Dawson and Farmer?" he asked with a smile. "I'm Captain Drake. General Stickney wants to see you right away, please. I've a jeep right over here."
"Fair enough, Captain," Dawson said with a grin and a nod. "Lead the way, sir."
A few minutes later the captain ushered them into the office of the Commandant of the Hawaiian Area. He was a big man, and looked every inch his rank, did General Stickney. As a matter of fact, as the general's coal black eyes bored into his, Dawson had the sudden, crazy sensation that he had done some wrong, and was being dragged up "on the carpet" for punishment. It was just a crazy thought, of course, and was gone almost as it was in his mind.
"Sit down, Captains," the general said, and waved them to chairs. "I've been waiting for you. Received a message from the War Department at Washington. Had it decoded for you, and—well, here it is. It probably makes sense to you two."
The senior officer held out a slip of paper. Dawson took it and leaned over so that Freddy could read it, too. It was from Colonel Welsh, and read:
"Boy friend disappeared. Possible he is wise. Suggest utmost caution. Suggest you alter plans of route. Suggest you keep on constant alert. All Army, Navy, and Air Forces units instructed to give you any help requested. Good luck to destination. Secrecy absolutely essential."
Dawson read the decoded message through twice, and experienced the very familiar, and very unpleasant sensation of cold lumps of lead beginning to bounce around in the pit of his stomach. It was easy enough to read between the lines. The Nazi agent had not trailed the colonel back to Washington. And he had obviously shaken off the man trailing him. In short, he had disappeared in thin air. That could mean one of two things. One, that he had given up. And two, that he had not been fooled by the bluff trick, and was somewhere close to Freddy's and his heels.