quickly. O'Malley slid the remaining quarter into his hand and opened his mouth.

"The close co-ordination between our fighter units and the low-level bombers will be secured by a system of code signals." Colonel Benson's voice snapped off suddenly. His green eyes were on O'Malley and sparks flashed in their depths. The other boys turned and looked at O'Malley.

"You are hungry, Lieutenant O'Malley?" Colonel Benson asked coldly.

"Yes, sor. 'Tis three hours an' more past dinnertime," O'Malley answered calmly as he shoved half of the pie into his mouth.

"Stop! Stop--swilling that pie!" the colonel roared.

O'Malley got rid of the pie in a simple manner. He shoved what was left into his mouth and munched upon it.

For a full minute the colonel could not think of anything to say. But his face got deeper red and his eyes blazed. Finally he rapped on his desk and said: "Gentlemen, I will not tolerate eating during a conference. Any sort of eating. I will not tolerate eating pie while I am giving instructions. Lieutenant O'Malley, you will retire. I will consider your case later."

O'Malley got to his feet. He handed the pie plate to the embarrassed corporal. "Thank you, sor," he drawled as he made off.

The colonel snorted and went back to his lecture. O'Malley headed for the mess hall. The half pie had whetted his appetite. Locating a comfortable place near a window he ordered a big dinner, with a whole blueberry pie for dessert. In a leisurely manner he began devouring his meal.

He had spent most of an hour enjoying his dinner and was ready to eat his pie, when the fliers began drifting in from the conference. Several of them headed toward O'Malley's table. O'Malley was the most famous pilot in their outfit. The stories about him amounted almost to legend. The boys admired his disregard for military usage. All of them had been working according to the colonel's carefully explained plans for months and knew them better than the colonel did. They had been bored by the long session but had not had the nerve to show their feelings.

But none of them reached O'Malley. Colonel Benson came in and strode over to O'Malley's table.

Nodding to O'Malley, he said, "Mind if I join you?" His voice did not sound so stiff outside his office.

"Sure, an' I'm 

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