other flight commanders, to meet his superior. O'Malley yawned. Meeting brass hats always bored him.

Colonel Benson was a big, rawboned man, standing six feet two inches and weighing two hundred and ten pounds. His red face looked as though it had just been scrubbed with soap and water. The eyes of the colonel took away the softness of his smooth face. They were green and hard as agate. At the moment they were looking Lieutenant O'Malley over with a decidedly unfavorable glint.

"I have been sent here to teach you men some of the combat tricks developed recently," the Colonel stated. O'Malley, who had been flying missions all over the proposed routes, spoke up about the need to do something about Sicily."That will be merely a step in taking Italy, Lieutenant," the colonel explained. He looked about the room. There were plenty of chairs. "You may be at ease, gentlemen. Seat yourselves and we will proceed with our conference."

O'Malley grunted. Dinner hour was long past and here they were settling down for a conference. He picked the chair nearest the door and slumped down into it. The colonel seated himself and launched into a lengthy and detailed talk upon tactics and plans. O'Malley listened for a time, then stretched out his legs and made himself comfortable. His mind wandered far from the droning voice of the colonel.

An hour passed and Colonel Benson was still outlining plans and driving home things he felt were very important. O'Malley had not exactly been asleep, but he had failed to hear more than just a small part of what was said. Suddenly he roused himself. Colonel Benson had just made a remark that brought him up sharply.

"Gentlemen, I will now outline the procedure we will follow in handling the various flights assigned to my sector. This will not take longer than one hour. Give me your close attention."

O'Malley looked about as though seeking a way to escape. He saw an orderly standing at the door. Nodding to the corporal, he leaned forward and whispered a command. The orderly disappeared.

Ten minutes later the corporal returned. He was carrying a tin plate with half of a blueberry pie on it.

"Thank you, son," O'Malley said as he slid the pie into his lap. He scooped out a quarter of the pie and opened his mouth. As he bit down upon the pie he began to grin. He gave his attention to the colonel with the first real show of interest he had given during the afternoon. The quarter of pie disappeared 

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