'Travel is broadening, Shrimp,' said Bubonovitch. 'Just look what it's done for you. You like a Britisher, you love a dame, and you have learned to speak fairly intelligible English, thanks to Sarina.'
'I ain't getting broadened much lately,' objected Rosetti. 'We ain't seen nothing but water for weeks. I'd like to see something else.'
'Smoke at eleven o'clock!' called Jerry, who had gone forward as lookout. Sarina smiled. The airmen's method of indicating direction always amused her, but she had to admit that it was practical.
Everybody looked in the direction indicated where a black smudge was showing just above the horizon.
'Maybe you're going to see something beside water now, Shrimp,' said Davis . 'Your wish was granted in a hurry.'
'That must be a ship,' called Jerry, 'and I think we'd better hightail it out of here.'
'Toward five o'clock?' asked Sarina.
'Keerect,' said Jerry, 'and pronto.'
They came about and sailed before the wind in a northwesterly direction, every eye on that ominous black smudge. 'It might be British,' said Corrie, hopefully.
'It might be,' agreed Tak, 'but we can't take any chances. It might just as well be Jap.'
For what seemed a long time there was no noticeable change in the appearance of the thing they watched so fearfully; then Tarzan's keen eyes discerned the superstructure of a ship rising above the horizon. He watched closely for a few minutes. 'It is going to cut right across our course,' he said. 'It will pass astern, but they're bound to sight us.'
'If it's Jap,' said Sarina, 'it's bound for Sumatra or Java. Our only chance is to hold this course and pray— pray for wind and more wind. If it's one of those little Jap merchant ships, we can outrun it if the wind picks up. Or if we can just hold our lead until after dark, we can get away.'
The proa seemed never to have moved more slowly. Straining eyes watched the menace grow larger, as the hull of a ship climbed over the rim of the world. 'It's like a bad dream,' said Corrie, 'where something horrible is chasing you, and you can't move. And the wind is dying.'
'You guys ain't prayin' hard enough,' said Rosetti.
'All I can remember,' said Davis , 'is 'now I lay me down to sleep,' and I can't remember all of that.'
A sudden gust of wind bellied the great sail, and the speed of the proa increased noticeably. 'Somebody hit the jack pot,' said Douglas .
But the strange ship continued to gain on them. 'She's changed course,' said Tarzan. 'She's heading for us.' A moment later he said, 'I can see her colors now. She's a Jap all right.'
'I should have gone to church like Mom always wanted me to,' said Davis . 'I might have learned some good prayers. But if I can't pray so good,' he said a moment later, 'I sure can shoot good.' He picked up his rifle and slipped a clip into the magazine.
'We can all shoot good,' said Jerry, 'but we can't sink a ship with what we got to shoot with.'
'That's a small, armed merchantman,' said Tarzan. 'She probably carries 20 mm anti-aircraft guns and .30 caliber machine guns.'
'I guess we're out gunned,' said Bubonovitch, with a wry grin.
'The effective range of the 20s is only about 1200 yards ,' said Jerry. 'These pop guns will do better than that. We ought to be able to get a few Nips before they finish us off—that is if you folks want to fight.' He looked around at them. 'We can surrender, or we can fight. What do you say?'
'I say fight,' said Rosetti.
'Think it over carefully,' admonished Jerry. 'If we put up a fight, we shall all be killed.'
'I don't intend to let those yellow sonsabitches knock me around again,' said Bubonovitch. 'If the rest of you don't want to fight, I won't either; but I won't be taken alive.'
'Neither shall I,' said Corrie. 'How do you feel about it, Jerry?'
'Fight, of course.' He looked at Tarzan. 'And you, Colonel?' Tarzan smiled at him. 'What do you think, Captain?'
'Does anyone object to fighting rather than surrendering?' No one did. 'Then we'd better check our rifles and load 'em. And may I say in conclusion, it's been nice knowing you.'
'That sounds terribly final,' said Corrie, 'even if you did mean it for a joke.'
'I'm afraid it is—final and no joke.'
The merchantman was closing up on them rapidly now, for after that one fitful gust the wind had slackened to a breeze that didn't even fill the great triangular sail of the proa.
'We've been mighty lucky for a long time,' said Tak. 'According to the law of chance, it should be about time for our luck to run out.'
There was a red flash aboard the Jap, followed by a puff of smoke. A moment later a shell burst far short of them.
'Lady Luck is getting ready to hit the breeze,' said Rosetti.
Chapter 30
'BEAUTIFUL gunnery!' said Bubonovitch. 'The poor sap doesn't even know the range of his gun.'
'Itchy fingers probably,' said Douglas .
'I doubt that the little admirals put their top gunnery officers aboard little merchantmen,' said Jerry; 'so maybe our luck is holding.'
The proa was barely making headway now, as it rose and fell on long swells. The forefoot of the oncoming ship plowed through the deep blue of the ocean, turning up white water, as the mold board of a plow turns up the rich loam of a field.
Again the Jap fired. This shell fell wide, but not so short. Jerry and Corrie were sitting close together, one of his hands covering one of hers. 'I guess van Prins was right,' said Jerry. 'He said we were crazy. I shouldn't have brought you along, darling.'
'I wouldn't have it otherwise,' said Corrie. 'We've had this much time together, that we wouldn't have had if I hadn't come with you. I've never had a chance to say 'for better or for worse,' but it has been in my heart always.'
He leaned closer to her. 'Do you, Corrie, take this man to be your wedded husband?'
'I do,' said Corrie, very softly. 'Do you, Jerry, take this woman to be your wedded wife, to cherish and protect until death do you part?'
'I do,' said Jerry, a little huskily. He slipped the class ring from his finger and on to Corrie's ring finger. 'With this ring I do thee wed, and with all my worldly goods endow.' Then he kissed her.
'I think,' said Corrie, 'that as far as the service is concerned our memories were a little lame; but we had the general idea at least. And I feel very much married, sweetheart.'
A near miss deluged them with water. They did not seem to notice it.
'My wife,' said Jerry. 'So young, so beautiful.'
''Wife!',' repeated Corrie.
'The guy's gettin' closer,' said Rosetti.
The fin of a shark cut the water between the proa and the Jap. Little Keta watched it, fortunately unaware of what it might portend. Tarzan raised the sights on his rifle and fired at the figures lining the rail of the Jap. The others followed his example, and presently ten rifles were blazing away. If they accomplished nothing else, they emptied the rail of sightseers and caused much confusion aboard the merchantman. Yes, they accomplished one more thing: They spurred the anti-aircraft gunners into frenzied activity. Shell bursts dotted the ocean.
'If their ammo holds out,' said Rosetti, 'they got to hit us just accidentally. Geeze! what lousy shootin'!'
At last it came, as they knew it must—a direct hit. Jerry saw half of Sing Tai's body hurled fifty feet into the air. Tak van der Bos's right leg was torn off. The entire company was thrown into the ocean; then the Jap moved in and commenced to machine gun them as they swam about or clung to pieces of the wreckage. The aim of the gunners was execrable, but again they knew that this was the end of the Foreign Legion—that eventually some of
