not far off the South Java coast. Two American destroyers had picked up the four hundred and fifty survivors. The Pecos was given orders to proceed to the lee of Christmas Island, which lies about two hundred and fifty miles south of Java in the Indian Ocean, whither the two destroyers preceded her, and to take on the Langley's survivors.
As Dr. Yon told the story: "We came to the harbor on the south side of Christmas Island in the morning about half-past eight. There was a rapid tide. We could see the two destroyers lying offshore. The Dutch pilot came out and was just coming up the ladder when the sky lookout shouted: 'Enemy planes.' Looking up, we saw that there were three planes in the flight. They circled in preparation for a run on the Pecos and the two destroyers. As soon as the air-raid alarm sounded, we got under way again and started to zigzag at top speed. As luck had it, a rain squall came up just at that time. Those things happen fast in the rainy season in the tropics. The cloud was low over the harbor, and our skipper kept the Pecos under it, out of sight of the enemy. We weaved about over the harbor like the craziest jitterbug. The planes couldn't find us. We could hear bombs exploding near by and hoped that they had not hit one of the destroyers. We learned later that the two destroyers had taken advantage of the low clouds and sneaked out to sea. The squall lasted about an hour. When it was over and the sun began to steam on the tin roofs of the little town, we could see the warehouses and shipping along the water front blazing where the bombs were dropped meant for us. The planes were gone, but we figured they'd be coming back soon. It seemed likely they came from a carrier not far off.
"Our skipper put out to sea, and soon we fell in with the destroyers, which were waiting for us outside the harbor. We headed almost due south all the rest of the day and that night until four o'clock the next morning. Then we hove to, and the destroyers came alongside one at a time to transfer the survivors of the Langley to the Pecos. There were heavy swells; and in those waters
