Dave Dawson at Truk Read online

  CHAPTER TEN

  _Unlucky Day_

  Fifteen long seconds passed before the huge Jap spoke again. He stoodthere motionless in the doorway, leering at them as though waiting forthem to speak. But Dawson and Freddy Farmer returned his stare as besttheir twanging nerves would permit, and remained silent. The Jap grewtired of the silence, and grew annoyed. He came a step or two into theroom and stood straddle-legged, with bunched fists on hips, and armsakimbo.

  "Well?" he suddenly thundered. "You would like to make me think that youare not afraid? That you are not chickens, too?"

  For a moment Dawson continued to regard him silently, but on impulse hechanged his mind.

  "That's right," he said. "We're not afraid to die. We don't want todie, but we're not afraid to. The job is done. That's all that mattered.We knew the chances we took, and ..."

  Dawson paused almost dramatically, and then shrugged a little.

  "And our luck has simply run out," he went on a moment later. "But thejob is done. That is, the part we had to do. Just stick your noseoutside this place, if you don't think so! Honolulu isn't such aterribly big place, you know. And ... well, thanks for the meal here.Mind if I finish it before you have your fun?"

  It took every ounce of will-power and self-control that Dave Dawson everpossessed to fling a questioning look at the Jap, and then calmly turnand start eating. His insides were on fire with fear. He could feel colddrops of sweat running down his back, and oozing from his armpits. Hewanted to shout wild things at the top of his voice. He wanted to tryand lunge up on his bound feet, and throw himself barehanded at thiskiller giant, and get it over with as quickly as possible. But there wasthat in him which forced him to play his part. Win, lose, or draw, hehad to play his part, because common sense told him that was all that hecould do, and maintain a fighting chance for his life. And a fightingchance for Freddy Farmer's life, too.

  "There's lots left, Freddy," he said calmly, and grinned stiffly at hispal. "Go on, dig in, boy. Eat while you can."

  Young Farmer's frozen face relaxed, and even lighted up. TheEnglish-born air ace returned his grin, and nodded.

  "Oh yes, quite, Dave," he said, "Might as well eat. The job's done,anyway. Wonder what time it is? They must all be in position now."

  Both air aces sensed rather than saw the swift, tigerish movement of thebig Jap leaping forward. A brown foot caught their tray of food and sentit skimming across the floor to crash up against the wall in back ofthem and shower uneaten food all over the place. Then the Jap backed up,virtually foaming at the mouth, and glared at them out of eyes that heldall the devilish hate in the world.

  "Fools, swine, pigs, dogs of dogs!" he screamed furiously. "I will teachyou to sing a different tune. I will teach you many things before youdie!"

  The Jap nodded his head violently, spat at them, and spun around to hurla strange tongue at the two brown men still cringing on the floor overby the wall. Dawson tried to catch just one of the words that the bigJap flung off his lips, but he failed utterly. The Jap spoke a language,or at least a dialect, that he had never in his life heard before.

  The two brown men heard it, and understood it, however. Theirprominent-boned faces still alive with fear, they got quickly to theirfeet, and went over to Dawson and Freddy Farmer, flung them flat ontheir faces and bound their wrists behind their backs once more. Thistime, though, they did not attach the end of the ropes to those aboutthe ankles. And Dawson held his breath in fear that they would realizeit and promptly do so. But they didn't. They straightened up, and thenat a snarling sound from the big Jap ducked quickly out of the room likea couple of terrified brown rabbits.

  The big Jap himself started to leave; then he hesitated on the thresholdand turned his huge close-shaven head to glare back at them.

  "Consider well what I have spoken, dog of dogs!" he boomed. "And prepareto die ten thousand times ten thousand times."

  And with that he went out the doorway and yanked the door shut with acrash that made the whole room vibrate like a violin string.

  "Cute little guy, isn't it!" Dawson presently broke the quiveringsilence. "Too bad his folks didn't drown him at birth!"

  "Too bad for us, too," Freddy Farmer said soberly. "Frankly, I don'tlike the looks of things, Dave. I mean ... well, it's all so blastedlymixed up, if you get what I mean?"

  "Yeah," Dawson grunted. "But we're still alive, so that's something."

  "That's just the point!" Freddy said quickly. "We _are_ still alive. Butwhy? That beggar was mad enough to eat us alive. I was certain he wasgoing at least to kick us in the stomach, just as Japrats love to do somuch. But the rotter didn't do a thing, except curse at us!"

  "I know, and it doesn't seem to make sense," Dawson said slowly, andfrowned. "But maybe it does at that. Maybe his nibs isn't the big shotaround here. Maybe the way we shot off our mouths threw him out of gear.Maybe he didn't dare go to town on us without the big boy's okay."

  "Let's say that that's right," young Farmer grunted. "Then what doesthis big boy want with us? In short, Dave, what earthly use are we toanybody, trussed up here as we are?"

  "If that's the sixty-four dollar question, then I lose all I've builtup," Dave groaned. "I don't know, Freddy. I don't know from nothingabout this crazy mess. The only thing we can do is wait and see whathappens."

  "Yes, I'm afraid so," Freddy said with a heavy sigh. Then with an angrygroan, "The dirty blighter, kicking all that nice food away!"

  That Freddy Farmer could even think of his stomach at such a time madeDawson chuckle in spite of the torturing thoughts that stabbed their waythrough his confused brain. Then they both lapsed into silence, andcontinually shifted this way and that in a desperate effort to relievethe numbing pains that crawled up their arms and legs. Neither of themsucceeded, and presently they both lay motionless, silently enduringtheir pains, and staring blank-eyed at each other as the gloom of deathseeped in to flood their throbbing brains.

  After a while fatigue rubbed out the numbing pains with sleep, and thenext thing either of them realized the big Jap was back in the room andkicking them into wakefulness.

  "Wake up, dogs of dogs!" he bellowed. "Wake up, fools!"

  Hot angry words rose to Dawson's lips as he instinctively tried to turnhis body away from the kicking foot, but the words went unspoken whenhe saw that the big Jap was not alone. Another Jap, about half theother's size, was also present. He was impeccably dressed in Americanclothes. From the top of his finely woven panama to the soles of hisbrown and white sport shoes he looked as though he had just stepped offFifth Avenue, New York. Perhaps the most startling thing of all aboutthe man was that he was rather good-looking. His face bore the tell-talecontours of a Jap, yes, but his teeth were not so much on the elephanttusk side. And they were the whitest teeth that Dawson had ever seen.Added to that, the Jap wore a warm friendly smile, with just a hint ofamusement.

  "Enough, Kato," he said in a pleasant voice, yet which contained a ringof steel. "Our little American guests are fully awake new. There is nonecessity to be cruel always, Kato. Release their hands and feet."

  The big Jap stopped kicking and turned around to gape wide-eyed at thesmall Jap, and shake his head. The well dressed one smiled into his bigflat face, but pin-points of blue light seemed to appear in his eyes.

  "Free them, Kato," he said softly. "I have so spoken. If then you areafraid, stand in back of them and keep your eyes on their movements. Youhave searched them, Kato?"

  "Yes, Honored One," Kato replied, as though he were addressing thetwo-for-a-nickel Emperor himself. "They carry no papers but their own.Nothing else. Their papers I have already given to you."

  "Then release them, Kato," the little Jap repeated, and with lazy,nonchalant movements he drew a cigarette and a long silver-banded ivoryholder from his pocket. He placed the cigarette in the holder, drew agold lighter from his pocket and snapped it into flame. Every one of hismovements was smooth and effortless, as though he were completelyrelaxed and enjoying himself at some cocktail par
ty, or in someexpensive and exclusive club.

  The big Jap looked at him again, and then without another word freedDawson and Freddy Farmer of their ropes. He was none too gentle aboutit, but both air aces were too taken up with the immaculately dressedman to feel the pain much. When they were free they got slowly to theirfeet, stamped the circulation back into them, and then stood thereeyeing the small Jap. Kato glided around behind them out of sight, butboth could smell his foul breath against the backs of their necks.

  The so called Honored One smoked his cigarette and studied them inpolite silence for a moment, and then effortlessly took his one quartersmoked cigarette from the holder and tossed it onto the floor away fromhim.

  "It is a pleasure to meet you, Captains Dawson and Farmer," he said.Then with a flashing smile, he added, "But I fear that neither of youshare the same pleasure?"

  There was only one reply to that question and neither Dawson nor FreddyFarmer bothered. They simply stood there and waited for him to continue.

  "My pardon," he said, and made a little snapping motion with the fingersof his right hand. "I have neglected to introduce myself. I am Mr.Yammanato. Of course you have never heard of me, so I will not boast bysaying that you probably have. In both your countries, though, they willhear much of Yammanato, before many seasons have passed."

  The little Jap paused, but Dawson and Freddy Farmer continued to givehim the studied, silent treatment. It did not seem to matter to himmuch. He raised one eyebrow in polite question, and then gave a littleshrug of his narrow shoulders.

  "I am sorry," he said, with just the faintest semblance of a bow. "Ofcourse your only interest in me is why I am here. I will tell you. It isinterest in your remarks to that one, Kato, who stands behind you ...and is most eager to take your lives. You told him your job wascompleted. I am amused, but a little puzzled, too. We three know thatyour--er--job, was to identify a certain Navy ensign. But you did _not_identify him. We did not permit you to do that. So there must have beensome other job you spoke of to Kato? I should like to have you tell mewhat it was."

  "You probably would, Yammanato," Dawson said evenly. Then with a tightsmile, and a shake of his head, "But we're not telling you, and you knowit!"

  The little Jap did not get angry. Not even the light in his eyeschanged. He simply smiled and made a waving motion of one hand as thoughto indicate that the little joke was on him this time.

  "I do not expect you to tell me, voluntarily," he said. "I simply asked,just in case, let us say. To be perfectly frank, I really am not soterribly interested in this mysterious job. Rather, merely curious.Neither of you has been out of our sight since the moment you landedyour Flying Fortress on Hickam Field. Several times we could have killedyou, and with little effort. But we did not consider such measuresnecessary. It was obvious that you had not overheard as much as was atfirst feared. However, it would be foolish to let you be free when thecarrier task force arrived, and so ..."

  Yammanato paused and smiled slowly.

  "And so, thoughtless as you Americans are continually, you gave us anexcellent chance to kidnap you," he went on. "To kidnap you, and holdyou until the carrier force had come and gone, as it has."

  The last made Dawson gasp, and sort of bend over as though the littleJap had kicked him in the stomach.

  "Gone?" he blurted out. "The carrier force has ... has _sailed_?"

  "But of course!" the Jap replied, and looked at him in surprise. "Didyou...? But naturally. I am being stupid. I am forgetting that only thismorning you awoke from the drugs. I am sorry that I assumed that youknew and understood. The carrier force has been at sea, now, for twodays."

  Dawson's throat contracted so that he could hardly breathe. He gaped atthe Jap in dumbfounded disbelief.

  "Two days!" he heard Freddy Farmer choke out. "What day is today?"

  "Friday, the thirteenth of the month," Yammanato replied. "And Friday,the thirteenth, is supposed to be an unlucky day in your country, is itnot?"

  "Friday, Friday?" Freddy Farmer mumbled over and over to himself."Why ... why, it was Monday night when we were at the Kahuku Pointbeach. I can't believe it. It's a blasted lie!"

  "It is the truth, Captain Farmer," the Jap corrected him smoothly. "I amsorry that I cannot permit you to go outside and confirm it by askinganybody you might meet on the street. You will just have to take my wordfor it. It _is_ Friday, the thirteenth, and the American carrier forcehas been at sea for two days. Its destination is, of course, a matter ofmystery to us. But of course it will not remain a mystery to us for verylong. I ... You are sick, Captain Dawson? Kato! Get that chair forCaptain Dawson. He is ill, or perhaps something I have said has upsethim."

  Dave wasn't even listening. He probably couldn't have, even if he wantedto. All the bombs and guns in the world were going off in his brain.His insides felt as though they had shriveled up into nothing, and as ifevery drop of blood in his veins were trickling out through the end ofhis toes. The carrier force had come and gone? That Nazi rat spy had notbeen caught, and he was now aboard one of the carriers? He made hiscontact with the man in Honolulu, who was obviously this Yammanato, andhad obtained other information to be taken to Admiral Shimoda at Truk?As well as the water flares? But it couldn't be! It was impossible!Yammanato was lying. Freddy and he couldn't have been out cold fromdrugs from Monday night until Friday. That was crazy, screwy, anddownright impossible.

  "It is true, Captain Dawson, I am sorry for your sake, to say," thequiet voice of Yammanato filtered through his spinning and roaringthoughts. "And here is your proof. I didn't think of it until just thismoment. Stupid of me. I fear I have just been living amongst youAmericans too long. I am becoming forgetful. But here, Captain Dawson.See for yourself."

  The little Jap had pulled a folded copy of the _Hawaiian Herald_ fromhis pocket, and was holding it up for them both to see. The big blackheadlines were just so many blurs to Dawson. His eyes flew to the datein small type, and all the life seemed to flow out of him.

  It was Friday, the thirteenth of the month!