Allison wish to see him." Stan gave the
soldier a look that made him snap to attention.

"I'll report, sir," he said and made off.

"He acted as though we were not welcome," Allison remarked.

"The Old Man probably told him to shoo all pilots away," Stan said. "Now
we better make our story good."

The orderly returned and nodded toward the fliers. "Colonel Benson will
see you, sir," he said to Stan.

They moved into the room and found Colonel Benson sitting behind his
desk. He had a pot of coffee, a bowl of soup, and a plate of sandwiches
before him. His green eyes lifted and swept over the two officers. They
saluted and Stan said:

"Lieutenants Wilson and Allison reporting for duty, sir."

The colonel dipped up a spoon of soup and ate it. He selected a
sandwich, lifted the lid and looked at the filling, then took a bite.

"I believe you gentlemen are under orders to report to Alexandria. I
take it you have made some changes on your own account." The colonel
paused and waited for a reply. His face was expressionless, but his eyes
bored into Stan and Allison.

"We hoped you would allow us to join Lieutenant O'Malley's command. We
got the idea there might be action on this front soon." Stan stood very
straight and looked the colonel in the eye.

"What gave you the idea there would be action?" the colonel asked.

"We got it quite by accident," Stan answered.

"I see. So you canceled the orders of the area commander and returned.
Who brought you back?"

"The Navy, sir." Allison smiled as he said it.

The colonel grunted. He finished his sandwich and helped himself to more
soup. Finally he spoke.

"There will be action very soon and we do need pilots," he said blandly.
His eyes dropped to a pad of reports. They were urgent requests from
Wilks and Liske asking to be transferred from O'Malley's ferry flight.
"I have two places I find very difficult to fill, and they happen to be
in Commander O'Malley's flight. I'll assign you men to those places."
His eyes lifted and there was a glint of hardness in them. "For the
duration of the present action," he added grimly.

"Thank you, sir," Stan said. "We will not take up more of your time."

"One more thing," the colonel said. "I will cancel your leave to
Alexandria. But your new assignment will not free you from any measures
I decide to take later as punishment for your breach of orders. Is that
clear?"

"Yes, sir," both officers answered. They saluted and about