nor was his crew a reality. No men had been assigned to him and he had no flight orders, but he had the assurance of the captain at operations that he would be on his way in a short time. If O'Malley had any suspicions as to the sort of work Colonel Benson had laid out for him, he did not show them. He was in exceptional good humor.

When he was called in by Captain Marks at headquarters, he dashed to the operations room as fast as he could. The captain smiled as O'Malley sprawled into a chair.

"I understand we are about to start an invasion of Italy," the captain began. "The details are a military secret, but it's coming and right away. There's some spade work to be done and you are to handle a hot assignment."

O'Malley's big mouth spread in an eager grin.

"The commander has assigned you to this job because he feels you are specially fitted for the work." The captain beamed, but there was a look in his eye that made O'Malley sit up and wipe the grin off his face.

"And what may it be?" he demanded.

"You are to ferry Lightnings to Malta." The captain lifted a hand as O'Malley came out of his chair like a cork out of a bottle of Algerian wine. "This is dangerous business. You may have to fight your way through. This will be day flying."

O'Malley snorted. "Fight! Sure, an' ferryin' to Malta is no work for a fighter pilot. 'Tis a job for these new colleens you got in the ferry service."

"Colonel's orders," the captain said curtly. "And the planes are to be landed in Malta in fighting trim. As soon as I round up a couple of men to work with you, I'll give you a call. Get set, because I'll need you any hour now."

O'Malley leaned forward and there was a dark gleam in his eyes. "Did you say fight our way through?" he asked.

"If necessary, but I understand you are a stunting fool. You shouldn't have to fire a shot on any trip. The planes are not to be shot up. They are for combat use in the invasion."

O'Malley was on his feet. "Foine," he said sweetly. "'Tis a nice job, sor, an' I'm appreciatin' it."The captain fixed him with a suspicious eye. This ferry job had been tough to fill. It was vitally important and demanded experienced fighter pilots, but none of the men wanted it. Captain Marks had not been able to get a single man to accept the 

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