first to see the faint shapes of the task
force low down on the horizon. As usual, Freddy spotted them first and
nudged Dave excitedly.

"There they are, Dave!" he cried, and pointed. "Right up ahead, there.
Lord! A mess of them, what? Looks like the whole blasted Navy. I can
count two carriers, half a dozen cruisers, and twelve destroyers!"

"Thanks, that saves me the trouble," Dave grunted, and squinted ahead.
"Yup! That's a task force sure enough. And, boy, look at those
destroyers skipping around! Fat chance Jap subs would have getting close
to those flat-tops. I wonder which is the Carson? They both look the
same to me."

"I don't care which is which," Freddy replied, and kept his gaze riveted
on the flotilla of battle craft drawing closer and closer. "I'd much
rather know where they are headed. After we've been put aboard, I mean."

"Well, keep your shirt on, sweetheart," Dave choked him off. "You'll
find out soon enough, and--Oh yeah! There they are. I was wondering if
either of those flat-tops had any planes up. Didn't think they'd leave
it all to the destroyers. The whole works is hardly making any headway."

Freddy Farmer didn't make any comment. He had followed the direction of
Dave's pointing hand with his eyes, and was watching the three sections
of Navy scout-patrol planes circling about high in the air above the
coasting task force. And a moment or two later, as though the task force
commander had heard Dave's comment and decided to do something about it,
every ship picked up speed and swung from a southeasterly course to one
due south.

"What the deuce, now?" Freddy Farmer breathed to nobody in particular.
"Why are they heading south? Have the Jap rats put a landing party
ashore on Admiral Byrd's Little America?"

"Well, they've sure got a long ways to go to reach it!" Dave said with a
laugh. "But if you use your head and your eyes, little man, you'll soon
catch on to the idea that the carriers are about to take their planes
aboard. So they've headed into the wind, which happens to be from the
south. Now, anything else you'd like explained?"

If there was, the slightly red-faced Freddy Farmer didn't ask. He simply
gave Dawson a withering look and then watched the scouting planes aloft
circle around and down and land aboard one of the carriers like so many
soldiers on parade.

"Splendid!" he breathed. "Darn good show. Those Navy chaps are a bit of
all right when it comes to flying."

"And okay