Dave Dawson with the Commandos
Page 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
_Sudden Chaos_
"This is getting me down, and giving me a sweet pain in the neck!" Davegroaned, and rolled over on the grass. "Do you think that Major Barberhas forgotten us?"
Freddy Farmer opened his eyes just to show that he was awake, and sighedcontentedly.
"Does it really matter?" he murmured. "Personally, this suits me quitenicely, thank you."
Dave scowled and contemplated jabbing Freddy in the ribs. But his pallooked so perfectly relaxed that he didn't have the heart to. So hesimply deepened his scowl.
"Fine guy, you are!" he growled. "A week ago you were as keen as mustardabout what Major Barber cooked up for us. And now? Now you're just alazy bum!"
Freddy opened one eye and glared.
"That's a downright lie, my good man!" he snapped. "I got aMesserschmitt One-Nine yesterday, didn't I? And one of those newFocke-Wulf One-Nineties the day before? What more do you want?"
"Action!" Dave grunted, and stared brooding-eyed at the row of Spitfireson the near side of the field. "I admit it's swell to be serving with anR.A.F. fighter squadron again. It's okay, but--but, doggone it, wedidn't come way over here for this! Even Group Captain Farnsworth agreedwith that. But it's been a whole week now since we arrived here. I'mbeginning not to know what to think, or hope."
"Then don't do either," Freddy commented sleepily. "Terrible strain onthe brain, you know. Must confess, though, I've been wondering a littlemyself, in odd moments. Does seem a bit queer we haven't heard fromMajor Barber. Could be that the whole show, whatever it was, was calledoff."
"There you go!" Dave groaned. "Always taking the joy out of life. Me,I've almost talked myself into getting in touch with Major Barber andfinding out what's what."
"I wouldn't," Freddy cautioned. "Doubtless you'd be told off quiteproperly. The Major struck me as that sort of a chap. If and when hewants us, we'll be sure to hear about it, I fancy."
Dave groaned again and sat up straight. A strong feeling of having beencheated out of something was gnawing at him. He knew that he shouldn'tfeel that way. As a member of an R.A.F. fighter squadron it was his jobto concentrate solely on his work, and let all other things go hang. Asoldier must be all soldier no matter what his duty, or where he had toperform it.
Yes, sure. That was all very well. But too many intangible things hadhappened to let his mind stay at rest, and his attention to stick to thedaily sweeps across the Channel to Occupied France that he took part in.There had been something big, very big, in the wind. Was it still so? Orhad that sleepy Freddy Farmer spoken the truth about the whole businesshaving been called off? It was a tantalizing thought, like a termite inhis brain. And the galling part of it all was that there really wasn't asingle thing that he could do about it, or should do about it, if he hadany sense. Start fishing around Major Barber and he might end up bygetting bounced back to the States. It was for him simply to--
The rest was cut off short as the raid alarm rang in the Operations Hut.He and Freddy sprang to their feet as one man, and went tearing over.The rest of the pilots on "stand to alert" reached there at the sametime. Squadron Leader Parkinson stuck his head out the door, and barkedthe orders.
"Five Heinkels sighted coming across! Twenty thousand. Course,north-northwest. Get after the beggars!"
Dave and Freddy wheeled with the others to dash for their planes, butstopped short as the Squadron Leader called them both back.
"Not you two chaps, this time," he told them. "Just received otherorders for you. Buzz over to Horsham Commando H.Q. Take one of thesquadron cars. You're to report to a Yank Major. Barber is the name.Better hop along at once. He sounded urgent over the phone. Glad to havehad you with us for the short spell. Luck, chaps!"
The Squadron Leader ducked back inside to continue with his raid alarmduties. Dave and Freddy just looked at each other, then spun around andtore over to the motor park. They were expected, for the Corporal incharge pointed out a fast R.A.F. Daimler, and swung open the gates forthem. Dave dived in beside the wheel, waited just long enough for Freddyto light beside him, and then kicked the engine into life and slipped itinto gear. Three minutes later they were on the winding dirt road thateventually finished up in the Southeast English town of Horsham.
"Hot dog!" Dave cried happily, and boosted the speed up another tenmiles. "I guess this is really it, this time, pal!"
"It won't be, if you hit a tree!" Freddy cried, and grabbed for a stronghold as Dave took the next turn. "Be careful and stop playing speeddemon. Five or ten minutes longer won't make any difference!"
"Will to me!" Dave laughed, and held his speed rate. "Can't wait to findout what the Major has to say to us. Gosh! And I was beginning tothink--! Oh well! Everything is wonderful, now. So why bother with thepast?"
"Quite!" Freddy snapped sarcastically. "Blast to the past. Justconcentrate on this winding road, if you possibly can. I've got enoughgrey hairs, as it is."
"What do you think it'll be, Freddy?" Dave asked, ignoring his lastremark. "I mean, what do you think he'll have to say to us?"
"Haven't the faintest idea," the English air ace replied. "But I have afeeling it won't be all sugar and honey. Everybody's been too deep downserious about things to suit my fancy. Particularly the Major'sreference to the little extra job for us. We've been detailed littleextra jobs before. Only they weren't _little_!"
"So what?" Dave laughed. "Wouldn't be getting the wind up, would you,pal?"
"Certainly!" Freddy threw at him. "And your gay eagerness doesn't foolme a bit. You're a little jittery inside yourself."
"And how!" Dave agreed instantly. "The heart's got a swell case ofjitters, if you must know. Always like that when things are mysteriousand unexplained. But war is no pink tea, hey, Freddy?"
"Not a bit of it!" the English youth replied with feeling. "Our job,though, is to do the best we can--while we can."
"Atta boy!" Dave cried, and took a hand off the wheel to press hisfriend's knee. "The old fight, always. You're making me feel better,now. Bring on your mysterious assignment! What do Farmer and Dawsoncare?"
"I'd hate to tell you," Freddy grunted, and lapsed into broodingsilence.
In another few minutes the car streaked over the crest of the last hill,and down there in the shallow valley was the town of Horsham. At firstglance it was nothing but another town, like any one of thousands ofEnglish towns. But on second glance Dave spotted lots of little thingsthat made Horsham just a bit different. Man-made things, to be exact.Woods completely surrounded the town, only not all were woods. Mostly itwas perfect camouflaging that concealed from prying Nazi eyes flyingabove the tremendous amount of activity that was taking place.
It concealed the row upon row of Commando tents. It hid the variousgroups of Commandos going through attack preparations and practice. Itconcealed the long lines of motor trucks that would carry them toembarkation points. It concealed a countless number of things. But onsecond glance Dave saw quite a bit of what was hidden, and his heartstarted hammering against his ribs, and the blood surging through hisveins. If there was a last stop before the great adventure, whatever itwas, Horsham must certainly be it.
Fully convinced of that fact, Dave eased off the Daimler's speed a bit,and went down the slanting road and into the town. They had to stop toask the location of H.Q., but after that they found it with no troubleat all. It was located in a picturesque two story grey stone house onthe far side of the town. An armed sentry came forward as Dave brakedthe car to a halt. He learned their identities, told them to wait, andwent inside. He was out again in less time than it takes to tell aboutit.
"You are to go in, at once," he said, and saluted with his rifle atpresent arms.
Dave and Freddy climbed down out of the Daimler, and went up the stonesteps into the house. A sentry stationed inside pointed at the open doorto the right. They stepped through it and snappily saluted Major Barber,who sat half hidden behind a huge desk piled high with maps and whatnot. He smiled and rose to greet them.
Dave grinned and went pink.
"Guilty, sir," he said. "But I was in a hurry. For a whole week, now--"
"I know," the Major stopped him. "But wars aren't won in a day. Isuspected you'd be wondering yourselves sick, but there were otherthings to take care of first. Sit down, though. Sit down and relax. It'stime you learned a few things about when the balloon goes up."
Dave and Freddy seated themselves in chairs, but neither of them relaxedeven a little bit. They sat on the edges of their chairs, and fixedtheir gaze unwaveringly on the U. S. Commando Chief. He let them sit intingling silence a moment or two while he seemed to collect his thoughtsand choose his words. Eventually, he leaned forward on the edge of hisdesk with his elbows, and locked the fingers of his two hands together.He spoke quietly, but there was a firmness to his voice that sent Dave'sheart beat mounting upward.
"Tomorrow night we are making a combined United Nations Commando raid ona section of France which, if it is pulled off successfully, will leavethe Nazis hanging on the ropes for quite some time to come. In fact,there is every possibility, and hope, that this raid will open the doorwide for a general United Nations invasion of the Continent."
The Major paused abruptly, and stared hard at Dave and then at Freddy.
"The attacking force," he continued a moment later, "will total close tofifteen thousand men. They will be men and officers from every branch ofthe services--air, land, and sea. The objectives to be aimed at totalthree times the number aimed at, and reached, in the combined Diepperaid a short time ago. As a matter of fact, it has been all that'shappened since the Dieppe raid that prompts us to launch this biggestone of all. The Dieppe raid scared Hitler silly, and his Generals, too.Shortly after the Dieppe raid large reenforcements were withdrawn fromother active fronts and rushed to the French coast area. Naturally,United Nations Intelligence here and in France has given us completedetails on the moves Hitler has made since Dieppe. One move is proofpositive of how the Dieppe raid really affected him. Field Marshal vonStaube, of the Army, and Luftwaffe Marshal von Gault, of the Air Force,are now in complete charge of operations in the Occupied France coastalzones."
The senior officer paused again, and Dave caught his breath inastonishment at the news. Von Staube and von Gault? If there were twomen in all the Third Reich responsible for Adolf Hitler's blood-sheddingsuccesses across bowed Europe, those two were the ones. Von Staube andvon Gault! The former the brains of the Army. The latter the brains ofthe Luftwaffe. Oh yes, and quite true! Their names seldom appeared innewsprint, or over the Berlin radio. Other names were featured. Otherfigureheads such as "Uncle" Goering received the publicity, and thepraise for every triumph, big or small. But it was von Staube and vonGault who had made everything possible. And if they had been transferredto France--
"Then Hitler sure is worried, plenty worried!" Dave heard himself speakthe thought aloud.
"No doubt about it!" Freddy Farmer echoed. Then, addressing the Major,he asked, "There is absolute proof of this, sir?"
"Absolute proof!" the senior officer replied emphatically, and picked upa small photo off the desk top and held it out. "Take a look. Taken theday before yesterday, and smuggled across to us. The uniforms will tellyou which is which, in case you've never seen their pictures before."
It was a picture of two high ranking German officers standing beside therunning board of a German Staff car, and obviously in deep conversation.The picture was not any too clear, because it had been taken at adistance with a long range lens. But it was clear enough for Dave andFreddy to recognize, from other pictures they had seen, the thin, cruel,hawkish face of Luftwaffe Marshal von Gault, and the beefy, moon-faced,thick-necked figure of Field Marshal von Staube. Dave handed the photoback without comment. But Freddy had another question.
"It was taken in Occupied France, sir?" he asked.
The Major held the photo up and pointed out the spire of a church thatwas faintly visible in the background. Part of it was missing as theresult of an exploding shell.
"That's the church in the little village of Evaux," he said, "across theSeine River from Rouen. I recognize it, because I've been there manytimes since that shell struck. Matter of fact, I happened to see thatshell do its work. It was a week before Dunkirk. No, don't worry. Thatpicture was taken in Occupied France. And those buildings in back ofthem, but on this side of the church, are their combined Headquarters."
The Major nodded slightly for emphasis, and dropped the photo on thedesk.
"A force of fifteen thousand men," he said a moment later. "Navy men,army men, and airmen. The time schedule has been worked out to the lastsplit second. And the schedule has been checked and rechecked, I mightadd. At the first show of darkness tomorrow evening, navy vessels willtake aboard the ground forces, at designated points along the southcoast here. At the right moment the ships will put out into the Channeland proceed toward the French coast. At a designated time bomber flightswill go over and blast all strong points for a thirty-five mile radiusabout the French coastal city of Le Havre. Le Havre will be the pivotingpoint of the entire raid. All operations will fan out north, south, andeast from Le Havre.
"Fighter squadrons, of course, will go across to keep a protective coverover the bombers against Nazi night fighters--if any are able to get offand come up at them. Fighter squadrons will also protect transportplanes filled with Commando Para-troops. Needless to say, each unit inthe attack has its own time schedule, that dovetails in with the generalschedule for the raid. And each unit, whether land, sea, or air, has itsown individual objective to take and hold, or, as in many cases, to takeand completely destroy. Clockwork is the keynote to the whole thing.Every man knows just what he is supposed to do, and what he's supposed_not_ to do, incidentally. There will be losses, heavy losses, probably.But our losses will be nothing to what the Nazis will lose in man power,war materials--and morale!"
The Major paused for breath, and to think over his next words. It wasall Dave could do to stop from squirming about on the edge of his chair.A hundred questions quivered on the tip of his tongue. But he had justenough sense to remain silent and bide his time. Soon enough the Majorwould tell Freddy and him what fighter flight they were to fly in. As amatter of fact, that bit of information was the next thing that camefrom the Yank Commando Chief's lips.
"You will go over with the squadron with which you are now stationed,"he said. "The Two Hundred and Third Fighters, with Squadron LeaderParkinson in charge. That unit will go over as part of the cover for theCommando Para-troops. Parkinson will be supplied with his own timeschedule, and will, of course, acquaint you with all those detailslater. Well, there you are. That's the general picture of the littlesurprise we'll have for Adolf Hitler tomorrow night. And if it comes offas we have planned, and as it _must_ come off, this world will be a muchbetter place to live in much sooner than most people expect. The Nazihigh lords, in particular!"
As Major Barber seemed to pause for the last time, and leaned back inhis chair, Dave was thrilling to the thought of so gigantic a raid, andsuch a devastating blow against the barbaric forces striving to conquerthe civilized world. At the same time there was a certain feeling offrustration within him, a feeling of keen disappointment. It was asthough he had been built up for a terrific let-down. He sneaked aglance at Freddy's face and could instantly tell from the expression hesaw there that Freddy was not exactly one hundred per cent pleasedhimself. Dave hesitated a moment, and then took the bull by the horns.
"It should be something, and how, sir!" he said enthusiastically. "Butback in New York, you mentioned something about a little extra job forFreddy and me. You still have one?"
Major Barber grinned and leaned forward again.
"I was wondering if you had forgotten that bit," he said with a chuckle."Yes, there's still a little extra job for you two. But _little_ ishardly the word. Your fighter plan
e unit will go as far inland as thevillage of Salernes, just north of Rouen. That's where your bunch ofCommando Para-troops will step off, and go down. But you will not returnto this side with the Two Hundred and Third Spitfires. You two will bearsouth and across the Seine to Evaux."
"Evaux?" Dave echoed, and gulped. "And when we get there?"
There was no grin on the Major's lips now. Neither was there a smile inhis eyes.
"When you get there," he said in a calm, steady voice, "you will kidnapvon Staube and von Gault and fly them back here to England. _That_ isthe little extra job that has been selected for you two to carry out.Think you'll like it, eh?"
For all the gold in the world Dave couldn't have spoken a single word atthat moment. His head had seemed to fly up off his shoulders and gofloating away. The rest of him was frozen to his chair as solid asArctic ice. It was impossible for him to move, and doubly so for him tothink. Kidnap Field Marshal von Staube, and Luftwaffe Marshal vonGault?