“Magnificent!” the Commander agreed. “I shall recommend that they be given a citation.”
“But that’s not what I mean, sir.” Ted was in dead earnest. “Their plane was damaged, but they were not on fire when I last saw them. They couldn’t have had a bad crackup. My theory is that they made a try for those islands off to the east.”
“We’ll hope they made it.” The Commander was pleased; for after all, he liked Jack very much and admired the courage the young Ensign had displayed that day.
“But, sir, all the islands in this region are held by the Japs, are they not?” Ted asked.
“Yes, all of them. But they are not all occupied by Japs. The smaller, rougher islands have been passed up by them as of little or no consequence.”
“There are natives?”
“Yes, perhaps.”
“Wild natives, cannibals—”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. There have been missionaries.” The Commander tapped his desk.
“Don’t you think we should make a search for them, sir?” Ted asked.