e flat out so as to catch up with the
stolen MK-11 as fast as they could?

"There's something blasted funny about this, Dave!" Freddy Farmer's
voice cut into his thoughts. "We neither of us can use the radio, and
those blighters back there are making no effort to catch up with us. I
don't like it at all. In fact--but, good Heavens, that couldn't possibly
be, I'm sure!"

Dawson took his eyes off the climbing Zeros long enough to look at his
pal.

"What now?" he barked. "What do you mean by that last, huh?"

Freddy Farmer didn't reply at once, and the dark frown on his face told
clearly that he was struggling with some very disagreeable thoughts.
Eventually the English youth bit his lip and pointed at the little hook
in his pit that should have a broadcasting mike hanging on it, but
didn't.

"I--I wonder if the beggars _let_ us escape, Dave?" he finally spoke in
a hesitant voice. "Yes, I wonder very much if they didn't let us get
away. After all, not a shot was fired. Fact is, I didn't see a single
Jap on that flight deck try to head us off from reaching this plane. And
it _was_ square in position for a quick take-off, too!"

Dawson gulped, and his mouth seemed full of sawdust, and little cold
shivers rippled through his body. He stared at Freddy, and then shook
his head angrily.

"Don't be nuts, Freddy!" he snapped. "Why in thunder _should_ they let
us escape? You're crazy, pal!"

"Possibly," Freddy Farmer replied. "But you're forgetting that there are
two sides to this business."

"And so?" Dawson echoed when Freddy stopped talking. "Out with the rest
of it! What do you mean, two sides?"

"What the _Japs_ want to know, of course!" the English youth flung at
him. "Why do you suppose the Japs let us stay alive so long? Because
they knew we were from some Yank carrier task force, and because they
wanted to find out from us _where it is_. We made that thick-headed Nazi
U-boat commander believe something that wasn't the truth. But Sasebo
didn't swallow our story, Dave. Not one bit of it. So they tried a trick
_to find out for themselves_. You see?"

Dawson didn't. In fact, he didn't see any part of it. But he didn't say
anything for a while. He turned front, and gave half of his attention to
his flying, and mulled over Freddy's most unpleasant words. A couple of
times he glanced back at the Zeros. They had leveled off at around five
thousand feet, and seemed to be coasting along a couple of miles behind
the MK