Rutherford G. Montgomery

“ After a few minutes he picked up Rangoon. Allison and Tom got their bearings and they headed in, still keeping to the cloud layer.
Over Rangoon they broke out of the clouds and began drifting in. They saw below a calm sea and a green jungle. A beacon began to flash and Stan contacted the field. They slid in over blue markers and down on a long runway. As they bumped to a halt, it seemed as if they had landed at one of the airfields in England. Only the ground men who rushed forward were American mechanics, not British. ”

“ Stan asked.
“Te Nuwa is in command until the general comes. When the general is here, Te Nuwa is just the fat one.” She spread her hands and smiled.
“Is the general a little man with a scar over his right eye?” Stan asked.
“Oh, you know our general?” Niva asked, surprised.
“I have met him,” Stan replied and grinned as he remembered how the little general had ordered Allison and himself shot the day they had flown the Martin on a false alarm flight. “I owe a great deal to the general,” he said as he dipped into the bowl of chicken. ”

“ Gray dawn was beginning to lift an arc of light into the sky as they broke out of the jungle at the place where Stan had entered the day before.
“We’ve made it. I’ll bet Von Ketch will be furious,” Stan said with a laugh.
“I feel sorry for the guards,” Niva said. “The common soldiers are not treated very well even when things go smoothly. Tonight has been a bad night for them.”
“Jap soldiers are the least of my worries,” Stan answered. “The plane is right around this grove of trees. If she’s there, I’ll clear the vines away and wheel her out.” ”

“ Allison said, the old-time flicker of a derisive twinkle gleaming in his eye.
“The Japs may well take Rangoon. They have to get it out of the way in order to slow up the flow of supplies to China. They can put ten planes into the air for every one we can send up. But as long as Rangoon stands, it will not be blasted from the air. That’s our record so far and that record is going to stand. It’s up to you fellows to make it stick.” Stan stared hard at his pals. “Now don’t let me catch you running out on the job to start looking for me.” ”

“ Outside the archway a Japanese soldier squatted in the sun. He was sitting on a little stool behind a machine gun. The gun effectively covered the entrance to the garden. The Jap looked up and grinned at Stan. He seemed to be inviting Stan to step out.
Stan wandered on around the wall. Each opening was guarded by a machine gun. Te Nuwa might handle his killings after the fashion of the East, but the general in command believed in more modern methods. Stan kept on until he halted before the pillared hallway leading into the temple. ”

“ Munson came down in a wicked dive. Stan blazed away and missed. As he came on around he saw the reason Munson was staying to fight it out. Black smoke was rolling out of the cowling of his motor.
“I’m spotting you the first round,” Stan said grimly. He eased over and slid off on one wing. Munson came on in for the kill. Stan zoomed upward and Munson went racing past.
The P–40 went up like a comet trailing a tail of fire. She hung at the top of her climb, leveled and slid away. Stan let her spin,212 hoping to shake the fire out of her. Munson knifed in, eager to knock the P–40 out. ”

“ Stan looked across and saw O’Malley’s head bobbing back and forth. Suddenly, he heard O’Malley’s voice:
“What kind o’ show is this?”
“We’re out for a bit of exercise,” Allison came back.
“We ought to be over in those clouds,” Stan cut in. “That’s the place to look for trouble.”
Far to their right rose a high-piled bank of clouds. Stan kept watching that bank and wondering when Munson would head that way. He also wondered if the colonel had ever been in combat before. A man who would lead his flight through the open sky with clouds on either side needed some practical training. ”

“ Flight Four, all out! Flight Five, all out!”
Before the speaker in the control room could repeat, there was a rush of feet toward the briefing room. O’Malley galloped along with a quarter of berry pie in his hand. He had bribed the Chinese cook into making his favorite dessert daily.
They crowded into the small shack and began scrambling into their fighting outfits.
“Munson found out we got back,” Stan said as he slid into his parachute harness.
“Faith, an’ he’s a wise bird, that fellow,” O’Malley growled. ”

“ Gripping the captured rifle Stan charged the sentry. His rush was silent and carried him well out and upon the guard before the Jap saw him coming. The sentry whirled and lowered his bayonet to meet the attack. Stan was on him before he could lunge. He wasn’t sure he had room for bayonet work so he brought the butt of the gun up in a sweeping arc. The Jap seemed to lift. He went rolling end over end like a rabbit, landing in a heap on the ground where he lay motionless.
Beside him Niva fired the automatic. Another guard was charging in. ”

“ Allison and O’Malley grinned broadly.
“Hello,” Stan said.
“’Tis a foine mornin’,” O’Malley said.
“Feel up to another fight with Nick Munson?” Allison asked.
“Didn’t I get him?” Stan asked.
“You got him,” Allison said. “But you almost hung on too long. There’s always a time to stay and a time to jump.”
Stan grinned. “How long am I in for?” he asked.
“Not for long,” Allison said. “You’ll be back in harness soon. The doc says you are the toughest human he’s ever seen.”
Stan closed his eyes. “I’ll be seein’ you, fellows,” he said. “Right now I feel like I needed weeks of sleep.” ”

“ The Flying Tigers were mostly American army and navy pilots.101 They had come to the aid of China because they were fighting men who wanted to be in the smoke of battle skies and hated the things the little men from Tokio stood for. They wanted to make China strong enough to strike on a fair and even basis.
But with the Japs attacking the United States they were all eager to get back to their old outfits, to their own squadrons. They were Americans and wanted to fly under their own flag. Stan had talked and had listened. Allison and O’Malley had said nothing. ”

“ When he thought he had the time right, he kicked the motor over and the P–40 started to rumble.
Niva looked toward the ship anxiously. Stan got down and motioned for her to come to him. When she came in from the field, he put her into the plane. She let him strap a parachute on her without saying a word.
“You grab this and pull if you have to jump out,” he instructed. “If you are high up you wait until you have fallen a long way. If your chute opens too soon a Jap will shoot you before you float down.” He was sure she would not be afraid to jump and that she would pull the rip cord. ”

“ We have no planes to send,” the cool voice said.
Now the Hudson was going up, hammering toward a layer of clouds. The Karigane fighters did not want the bomber to reach those clouds. Three of them came screaming in from a head-on position. Stan heard O’Malley open up. One of the fighters sheared off, turned over and went down in flames, its silver belly gleaming. ”

“ He charged upon the onrushing men at a brisk pace. The guards ducked and leaped aside. The Robin galloped past them and up to the shed, where Stan whipped her around again and headed down the field for the second time. Then he spied a squad of machine gunners coming out of the woods. It was up this time or be riddled.
Stan opened the throttle wide and the ancient motor rattled and pounded as it broke into a surge of power. He let the ship roll as far as he dared. Machine guns were rattling away but all the bullets were going wild. Stan hoicked the Robin’s tail and eased back on the stick. ”

“ Allison answered coolly.
“You see, Munson is about to blow up the squadron. That’s just what he wants to do. If we start trouble, he’ll wreck the flying strength of this outfit. In that case, he’ll have us grounded and this sector will be wide open.” Stan pressed his point home hard. “He has a reason. I think he’s being paid off. I think his credentials are faked. It’s not hard to get into an outfit like this. The Chinese need trained pilots so bad they are not apt to go deep into their past records.” ”

“ Outside, stars gleamed and a pale moon shone through a cloudless sky.
“Somebody has to start a movement to get rid of Munson,” Stan said grimly. “I never saw a tougher, more wild crew than64 we have, but they’ll go to pieces if he keeps at them.”
“Sure, an’ we ought to punch him in the nose. We could throw him out o’ this outfit and chase him out o’ Burma,” O’Malley said.
“There ought to be a better way,” Allison said. “A way that would not make an outlaw outfit out of the gang. The Chinese want to give us a free hand, but if we get to staging riots, they’ll have to step in and take control.” ”

“ Munson was arguing hotly with someone. Stan halted just beyond the door and listened.
“I want a single-seat bomber, one of those dive bombers out there. That was the agreement when I came over here. I’m an expert and an instructor. I fly alone.”
A smooth but firm voice answered, “I am sorry, Mr. Munson. I have orders to assign you to Tom Koo’s bomber crew under command of Major Allison. If you wish return transportation to Singapore, that will be arranged. If you wish to go on to China, you will follow instructions.” ”

“ He will call in his dacoit and the dacoit will lie as will the temple helpers who work with him. I will have many to help me.”
“But the men out there will recognize you. They’ll probably suspect you of helping me and tell the police,” Stan argued.
“When you start the machine it will make much noise. The men will rush out to stop you. I will come here into the shadows and put on the boy’s outfit. I will go down to the street and mingle with the crowd. I am a boy much of the time. I go about listening to what the people say about the Japanese.” Niva laughed softly. ”

“ They steal cars and trucks after we get them serviced and ready to roll.” The boss wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “This whole lower end of the line is in Burma, not China. The Chinese just have transportation rights. They got those rights through British pressure and some of the Burmese don’t like it.”
“What do they do when they catch thieves stealing trucks and cars?” Stan asked.
“It depends a lot on who they are. If they are wealthy owners of big land grants, they just take the car and forget it. If they are poor natives who make a business of thieving, they shoot them.” ”