er the scene
of the attack. The screen tuned to the pickup on the airjeep went
dead; in the big screen, there was a twinkling of falling fire. Almost
at once, thirty or forty rocket-trails converged on the gun-position,
and, for a moment, explosions burned like a bonfire.

"They had a 75-mm. at the rear of the column," somebody called from
the big switchboard. "Lieutenant Kalanang's jeep was hit; Lieutenant
Vermaas is cutting in his pickup on the same wavelength."

* * * * *

The small screen lighted again. In the big screen, a cluster of
magnesium-lights then appeared above where the Skilkan gun had been;
in the small screen, there was a stubbled grain-field, pocked with
craters, and the bodies of fifteen or twenty natives, all rather badly
mangled. An overturned and apparently destroyed 75-mm. gun lay on its
side.

"As far as we know, that was the only 75-mm. gun Firkked had," Colonel
Cheng-Li said. "He has at least six, possibly ten, 40-mm's. It's a
wonder we haven't seen anything of them."

"Well, there's no way of being sure," Jules Keaveney said, "but I have
an idea they're all at or around the Palace. Firkked knows about how
much contragravity we have. He's probably wondering why we aren't
bombing him, now."

"He doesn't know we've sold the Palace to King Jonkvank for an army,"
von Schlichten said. "And that reminds me; how much contragravity
could Firkked scrape together, for an attack on us? I've been
expecting a geek Luftwaffe over here, at any moment."

Colonel Cheng-Li studied the smoking tip of his cigarette for a
moment. "Well, Firkked owns, personally, three ten-passenger aircars,
a thing like a troop-carrier that he transports some of his courtiers
around in, four airjeeps armed with a pair of 15-mm. machine-guns
apiece, and two big lorries. There are possibly two hundred vehicles
of all types in Skilk and the country around, but some of them are in
the hands of natives friendly to us."

Von Schlichten nodded. "And there'll be oodles of
thermoconcentrate-fuel, and blasting explosives. Colonel Quinton,
suppose you call Ed Wallingsby, the Chief Engineer, right away; have
him commissioned colonel. Tell him to get to work making this place
secure against air-attack, to consult with Colonel Jarman, and to get
those geeks Leavitt has penned in the repair-dock at the airport and
use them to dig slit-trenches and fill sandbags and so on. He can use
Kragan limited-duty wo