Dave Dawson on Guadalcanal

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Excerpt: ...if you were on the surface much last night?" Dave repeated. "Was your radio open all the time?" The German hesitated as though reluctant to reveal even that bit of utterly useless information. Then he made up his mind, and nodded curtly. "Yes, we were, " he said. "And the radio was Pg 132 open. Why?" "You didn't hear the Tokyo station, did you, by any chance?" Dave asked softly, and leaned forward slightly. "Did you hear any Tokyo broadcast? Say from midnight on?" The Jap hissed some more, but Dawson didn't so much as look at him. He kept staring at the Nazi, who was all scowls now. And there was a queer, unfathomable look in his eyes. Then suddenly he blurted out the question. "You mean that Tokyo was bombed last night?" Dawson calmly hunched one shoulder and gestured with his two hands, palms upward. "Maybe it wasn't Tokyo, " he said quietly. "We didn't have a radio in our raft. Maybe other objectives were selected at the last minute. I just thought that maybe you had heard, and could tell me. Then you didn't hear the Tokyo radio last night, eh? And maybe it was off the air?" "Lies, all lies!" the Jap screamed again, and actually jumped up and down in his fury. "Not one enemy bomber will ever get within sight of our shores." Dave was tempted to turn and snap, "Quiet! small fry!" but instead he kept looking at the Nazi commander. He could tell that the Ger Pg 133 man had a head full of thoughts, all bad. He and Freddy had planted the seeds of doubt and worry in the German's brain. And if they played it very carefully they might do more to help the Guadalcanal attack from right here in the U-boat than they would have if they had been able to make a hundred scouting patrols off the flight deck of the carrier Carson. At any rate, it was plain to see from the Nazi's face that the little "tête-à-tête" wasn't exactly working out the way he had planned. Something had gone off the track somewhere along the line. Suddenly the Nazi took his eyes off Dawson...