They had covered more than half the way to the task force when, coming from behind a very small cloud, Jack4 let out a howl:
“Torpedo5 planes in formation, dead ahead!”
“Enemy planes?” Stew6 rubbed his eyes.
“Easy. They slipped out of the harbor during our stratosphere battles.” Jack gave his ship the rein7.
The situation was clear. For many weeks Jap task forces in harbors had been refusing to fight. It had been assumed that they would once again attempt flight. But at least one carrier had sent out its torpedo planes to do battle.
“Get on the radio! Quick!” Jack exclaimed. “Not a second to lose!”
235
Almost the next breath Stew was droning into his mike: “Twelve enemy torpedo planes approaching task force at top speed. Should strike soon.”
His report exploded on the Black Bee like a bombshell. Having received his earlier report, all carriers had dispatched their dive bombers8 and torpedo planes, with fighter escort, to the enemy harbor, where they hoped to wreak9 havoc10 on the fleet before it could escape.
On the Black Bee there remained only a small fighter squadron under Kentucky’s command. Half the fighters were on patrol duty, the rest were on the flight deck.
“If those torpedo planes hit us it’s just going to be too bad!” Ted11 exclaimed as he and Kentucky raced for their planes.
In the meantime Jack and Stew were shadowing the enemy squadron.
“It’s no use taking them on alone,” Jack said.
“I should say not! They’ve got a dozen Zeros protecting them,” Stew agreed.
“But if they go after the Black Bee,” Jack added, “we’re bound to step in and do our bit.”
“And the Black Bee it is!” Stew added a moment later when the powerful planes, as if drawn12 by a magnet, headed straight for the master prize, the Black Bee, largest ship in the convoy13.
“You’ve got to hand it to ’em!” Stew exclaimed. “They’ve got plenty of nerve!”
236
“Lot of good it will do them!” Jack growled14. “I’ll wreck15 this jet plane in a suicide dive before I’ll see the old Black Bee sunk!”
Silently Stew offered up a prayer for the Black Bee, and for Jack as well.
“Here comes Kentucky and his gang!” he exclaimed exultantly16.
“Too few and too late,” Jack growled. “Curse the Japs!” Meanwhile Jack was edging in closer to the approaching Japs. Stew was holding his breath, for he knew well that if the Zeros turned to go after him, Jack would not run for the stratosphere this time, but would stay and fight.
Kentucky, with his small band of fighters, came zooming17 on in formation. The Zeros dashed ahead to engage them. At once there was a whirling battle, as hard to watch as a three-ring circus. Three fighters, Kentucky, Ted, and Red, remained in formation. When a Zero went after them it was like hitting a stone wall. Three Zeros went down in smoke. But the deadly torpedo planes roared on.
Now, shaking themselves free from the Zeros, Kentucky’s three zoomed18 aloft to come in behind the torpedo planes. Striking the last of these a slanting19 blow, they sent it whirling and rolling toward the sea. Two others followed in quick succession.
237
By this time the torpedo planes were nearing the Black Bee. Ack-acks and pom-poms began pouring bursting shells at them. Two were downed before they dropped their tin fish. But the third, seeming to bear a charmed life, came straight on. It dropped its fish, then zoomed aloft.
With sinking heart Jack saw its torpedo tear a gaping20 hole in the Black Bee’s side.
“Got to get into this!” he growled. Screaming aloft he raced at tremendous speed past the enemy planes, then whirling, came at the next torpedo plane in line.
Just as he prepared to brave his own ship’s fire, the enemy plane blew up. A shell from the ship had gotten her.
“Good work!” he exclaimed, once again roaring aloft.
Other torpedo planes were coming in. Kentucky’s trio was strafing them, but still they came.
“Only one hit so far. They’re thinning!” Jack exclaimed. “If my—”
“There! That’s the one! We’ve got to get that one!”
Once again the Jap came whirling in. This time nothing stopped the enemy, that is, nothing but the fire from Jack’s twin guns. The big plane nosed down into the sea.
238
“That’s got them!” Jack breathed deeply as he passed out of range of the Black Bee’s fire.
“Ted crashed!” Stew declared. “I saw him go down. Not a bad crash, but his ship’s gone.”
“Where?” Jack demanded.
“Over there to the right.”
The jet plane banked, then sped away.
“There he is!” Stew exclaimed.
A moment more and Jack’s plane was taxiing in close to Ted’s wrecked21 fighter.
Ted sat astride the fuselage, which was all but covered with water.
“Are you hurt?” Jack asked.
“Not—not so bad,” Ted replied, hesitatingly. “Sort of got a bump or two.”
“Climb over and help him onto our plane,” Jack said. Stew was on the sinking plane in an instant. A moment more and they were rising from the water.
Nearing the Black Bee, Jack signaled that he had a wounded man and was coming aboard. He got the all-clear at once.
The first person to reach the plane was Mary. She had seen it all. There was a look on her face that Jack had never seen there before as she called, “Ted! Is he badly injured?”
239
“He’ll pull through,” Jack admitted. “But why only Ted? Can’t you give another fellow a smile?”
“Jack, I could kiss you for saving Ted,” she exclaimed. And that was just what she did.
In landing on the sea, and again on the deck of the Black Bee, Jack had experienced unusual difficulty in controlling the jet plane, but was at the time too excited to think much about it. When at last he had time to look the plane over, he found that it had, at some time during the fight, been seriously damaged.
“You picked up some of our flak,” was the verdict of the commander of the deck crews. “That plane’s through.”
When Jack came to his own commander to ask for another plane, the Commander put a hand on his shoulder and in a gruff voice said:
“Forget it, boy! You’ve done your part. You’ve pitched five innings, and never a man got to first base. It’s you for the showers.”
240
And so it was showers for Jack and Stew, and sick bay for Ted, with a smiling Mary hovering22 over him. But the battle went on. Every carrier sent its full quota23 of dive bombers and torpedo planes to sink ships in the harbor and wreck shore installations. Speedy cruisers, destroyers, and PT boats came in next to put on the finishing touches. After these came troop transports and landing barges24. Marines and GI Joes swarmed25 ashore26 by the thousands. By late afternoon they were ten miles inland. The battle was won.
That was not all. They reached the prison camp, knocked down the gates, and set free more than five hundred prisoners who had not looked on the Stars and Stripes for two long years.
Two hundred of the prisoners were put aboard the Black Bee, for she would be the first ship to reach Pearl Harbor. The hole in her side had been shored up, making her safe for a journey, but not for combat.
As Jack watched the prisoners—ragged, unshaven, and lean-faced, with hungry looks in their eyes—line up on the deck, he recalled a song he had sung back in school days:
Tramp! tramp! tramp! the boys are marching,
Cheer up, comrades, they will come,
And beneath the starry27 flag
We will breathe the air again
Of the freeland in our own beloved home.
Others watched too. All of a sudden Mary let out a cry: “Tom! Tom! Oh! My dear!” She threw her arms about a slim, bearded youth who could have been but a boy on Bataan.
241
“It’s her brother,” Jack whispered to Stew. “She told me about him. War is wonderful,” he murmured. “Wonderful and terrible.”
The Black Bee held her position for the night. Early next morning, while Jack was pacing the deck, he saw a small craft flying the union Jack come alongside. A rope ladder was let down and two men climbed aboard. One of the two men glanced about the deck. When his eyes fell on Jack, he said:
“Ah! There you are!” Staring, Jack made no reply. Then suddenly he recognized the men. They were the British pair he had first seen with the jet plane.
“We’ve come for our jet plane,” the man explained, advancing. “Those bloody28 Nazis29 and Japs stole her from us. We went after them with a boatload of fighting men, only to find that they were all dead and that you had gone off with our plane. But now here we are. Thanks for saving our plane, old boy! That was bully30!”
“Oh! Gee31!” Jack exclaimed. “Somebody’s always taking the joy out of life! I suppose there’s no way I can talk you out of it?”
242
“Not a chance,” was the smiling answer. “You see, this jet plane idea was all worked out in England. Then the United States asked for a chance to develop it. They were given the right and manufactured a few of them for experimental purposes. Australia asked for one of these and got it. My partner and I were given the task of testing the plane. We were traders before the war and so had a few caches of kerosene32 and other trade goods scattered33 among the islands.”
“That’s why you were on our island,” said Jack.
“Exactly why. But those Germans surprised us while we were on another island, and hijacked34 our plane. Now I’m afraid we’ll have to ask to have it returned. However, we’ve brought you a consolation35 award.”
“What’s that?” Jack stared.
“Twenty sacks of first-class mail for the men on your carrier. There should be a letter or two for you in that lot.”
“Oh, a dozen, I hope!” Jack exclaimed. “We haven’t had any mail for a month.”
It turned out that there were fifteen letters for Jack. The one he prized most came from Patsy. In part it ran:
Oh, Jack! Do take care of yourself and come back soon. It’s only since you’ve been gone that I’ve learned how much you mean to my young life. You’re the only boy I ever really cared for, and the only one I ever shall.
243
“Boy!” Jack exclaimed. “That fixes things just about hunkydory! ‘Take good care of yourself.’ That’s just what I’ve been doing. ‘Come back soon.’ Wouldn’t I love it! Even just for a day!”
Did a good gremlin whisper, “Sooner than you think”? If he did, he spoke36 the truth. The old Black Bee had been tied to the repair dock at Pearl Harbor for three days. Ted, who was practically himself again, and Mary, who was enjoying a new lease on life, had been making good use of the Hawaiian moonlight. One morning Jack and Stew were taking in the sights, when Jack was called back to the ship by his commander.
“Get your things together,” the Commander ordered. “You’re going back to the States by plane.”
“What’s that, sir?” Jack stared. “What have I done now?”
“Plenty!” The Commander smiled. “It happens you’re the only living man who has flown a jet plane in actual combat! Since our people are soon to put this new type of plane into production—”
“They want my expert advice, sir?” Jack laughed. “Why not, sir? It will be a real pleasure!”
244
“You leave by plane in three hours, so you’d better start packing. Good-by and good luck.” The Commander extended his hand. “The Black Bee will be shipshape about thirty days from now. We shall hope to have you back by then. And if you can talk them out of about ten of those jet planes for our carrier, I’ll recommend your promotion37 to a Lieutenant38’s rank.”
“Then I’m as good as a Lieutenant right now, sir!”
Jack’s arm went up in a snappy salute and, executing a right-about-face, he went off to pack; though he hated the thought of leaving the Black Bee and all the splendid men aboard, he could not still the song in his heart as he visioned the excitement of his next adventure.
The End
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
lone
|
|
| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
scout
|
|
| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
salute
|
|
| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
jack
|
|
| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
torpedo
|
|
| n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
stew
|
|
| n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
rein
|
|
| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
bombers
|
|
| n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
wreak
|
|
| v.发泄；报复 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
havoc
|
|
| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
ted
|
|
| vt.翻晒，撒，撒开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
convoy
|
|
| vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
growled
|
|
| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
wreck
|
|
| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
exultantly
|
|
| adv.狂欢地，欢欣鼓舞地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
zooming
|
|
| adj.快速上升的v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的过去分词 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
zoomed
|
|
| v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的过去式 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
slanting
|
|
| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
gaping
|
|
| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
wrecked
|
|
| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
hovering
|
|
| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
quota
|
|
| n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
barges
|
|
| 驳船( barge的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
swarmed
|
|
| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
ashore
|
|
| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
starry
|
|
| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
bloody
|
|
| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
Nazis
|
|
| n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
bully
|
|
| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
gee
|
|
| n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
kerosene
|
|
| n.(kerosine)煤油，火油 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
hijacked
|
|
| 劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
consolation
|
|
| n.安慰，慰问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
promotion
|
|
| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
lieutenant
|
|
| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |