I don't know!"

"Maybe it's love," Dave chuckled, and jumped quickly as the English
youth aimed a booted foot.

Freddy's foot didn't connect with certain places, however. And he didn't
make a second try. He simply snorted to himself and joined Dave in
staring silently down at the black water flowing past. For perhaps some
ten of fifteen minutes neither youth said anything. Each seemed to be
quite content with his own thoughts. Eventually, though, Dave broke the
silence.

"Well, there's one thing, anyway, Freddy," he said. "Wherever we're
going, we're going to get there soon, I guess."

"Would that be the beginning of another side-splitting act of yours?"
Freddy growled. "And what do you mean by it, anyway?"

"It's the detective in me," Dawson replied, unruffled. "Here we are on a
destroyer heading out to sea in pitch darkness, but I haven't been
assigned any place to sleep, have you?"

"By Jove, that's right, Dave!" young Farmer exclaimed excitedly. "We
haven't, have we? Good grief! Do you suppose this is taking us to New
Zealand, and we've got to ride on deck all the way?"

Dawson didn't answer for a moment. He threw back his head and stared up
at the trillions upon trillions of stars that glittered and gleamed in
the jet black sky.

"My celestial navigation tells me we're headed more toward New Caledonia
than New Zealand," he said. "But I'll bet you a pair of flying goggles
that we're not going to either of those places."

"I won't take the bet, because you're too blasted lucky," Freddy spoke
up quickly. "But anyway, why didn't you think so?"

"Well, I got hit by a sudden hunch, while we were waiting on the pier
for this tin can to tie up," Dawson said slowly. "And I got chewing the
fat with some of the others there. Know something, Freddy?"

"Well, I will after you tell me, of course," the English youth replied.
"What?"

"Keep your shirt on; a guy has to take a breath now and then, you know!"
Dave grunted. "Well, I didn't run into a single guy who hasn't had some
experience flying off an aircraft carrier. If you want my guess, it's
that this load of pilots is being taken out to some carrier force
waiting way off shore."

"I wonder, I wonder!" Freddy Farmer murmured after a long pause. "Why
would a carrier force be so top hat as not to come in and get us, I'd
like to know?"

"Call it 'high hat' next time, Freddy," Dave corrected gently. "White
folks will think you're English, if you--"

"Now, look