t the fires! Of
course, we're going to burn all these buildings tomorrow or the next
day but Norton was afraid the Residency would catch fire."

"Probably didn't want his sweetie's fancy clothes to burn."

"They got Wilson, you know."

"Good Lord! Dead?"

"Right between the eyes. They almost got all four of us."

Fielding took his heavy battle helmet off and pushed back the glass
visor of his radiation helmet to wipe the perspiration and dirt off
his face. "Well, maybe Norton didn't want us to catch those damn cats.
Maybe he figured he owed them that much."

O'Mara shielded his eyes as he said, "Beta's setting. It'll be night
in a couple of hours and we can walk around without this blasted
radiation armor for a while."

"Yeah, and we can start looking for a full scale night attack as soon
as good old Alpha hides his hoary head."

"If you see O'Shaughnessy, tell him I want to see him, will you? I'm
going to stop at the schoolhouse for a few minutes."

Surprise spread across Bill's freckled face, "Not the school teacher?
Not you! Buddy, you've been in Dust Bin too long. You've been on
Naraka too long. You'll be attending services at the Chapel next."

Terrence muttered a few old Anglo-Saxon words under his breath and
limped off in the direction of the school building.

* * * * *

The Reverend Ames Goodman was the smallest Narakan that Terrence had
ever seen. The Johnathian missionary from Little Texas was somewhat
under two hundred and fifty pounds which was slight for a Greenback.
He also spoke the best English except for some of the big shots in New
Chicago. Ordinarily he was a composite of superstitious reverence and
natural dignity which Terrence had always found admirable. Today,
however, he couldn't have appeared more ludicrous if he had tried. He
was dressed for a visit to the Residency in a white duck suit which
was too small and out of which he bulged in a number of surprising
places.

He and Joan Allen were talking half in English and half in Narakan as
the lieutenant entered. The minister had a painfully surprised look on
his round green face.

"I hope we didn't bust up your school too much, Miss Allen."

"If you are quite finished with your shooting and cursing, Lieutenant
O'Mara, perhaps you have time to explain to Rev. Goodman and me what
this talk about evacuation means."

As she spoke, she brushed stray strands of black hair up under her
radiation helmet.