nant O'Malley," O'Malley informed him.

"Lieutenant O'Malley, nothing can excuse the sloppiness of your attire.
In the future you will give more attention to your uniform."

"Yes, sor," O'Malley said and grinned.

The grin made Colonel Benson rise up on his heels. He came down with a
thud, but he said no more. His eyes moved from O'Malley.

"We will soon be invading Italy." The Colonel paused to let this sink
in. It was exactly what the boys had been expecting, and therefore they
showed no sudden interest.

"How about Sicily, sor?" O'Malley asked. He had been flying missions all
over the proposed routes and knew something would have to be done about
Sicily.

"That will be merely a step in taking Italy, Lieutenant," the colonel
explained. He looked about the room. There were plenty of chairs. "You
may be at ease, gentlemen. Seat yourselves and we will proceed with our
conference."

O'Malley grunted. Dinner hour was long past and here they were settling
down for a conference. He picked the chair nearest the door and slumped
down into it. The colonel seated himself and launched into a lengthy and
detailed talk upon tactics and plans. O'Malley listened for a time, then
stretched out his legs and made himself comfortable. His mind wandered
far from the droning voice of the colonel.

An hour passed and Colonel Benson was still outlining plans and driving
home things he felt were very important. O'Malley had not exactly been
asleep, but he had failed to hear more than just a small part of what
was said. Suddenly he roused himself. Colonel Benson had just made a
remark that brought him up sharply.

"Gentlemen, I will now outline the procedure we will follow in handling
the various flights assigned to my sector. This will not take longer
than one hour. Give me your close attention."

O'Malley looked about as though seeking a way to escape. He saw an
orderly standing at the door. Nodding to the corporal, he leaned forward
and whispered a command. The orderly disappeared.

Ten minutes later the corporal returned. He was carrying a tin plate
with half of a blueberry pie on it.

"Thank you, son," O'Malley said as he slid the pie into his lap. He
scooped out a quarter of the pie and opened his mouth. As he bit down
upon the pie he began to grin. He gave his attention to the colonel with
the first real show of interest he had given during the afternoon. The
quarter of pie disappeared quickly. O'Malley slid the remaining