m were clad in forest-green uniforms that showed black at
night, but each had some distinctive badge or item of uniform or
equipment that distinguished his Gang.

Both the Mifflin and Altoona Bosses, for instance, wore heavy-looking
boots with jointed knees. They came from sections that were not only
mountainous, but rocky, where "leaping" involves many a slip and bruised
limb, unless some protection of this sort is worn. But these boots were
not as heavy as they looked, being counter-balanced somewhat with
inertron.

The headgear of the Winslows was quite different from the close-fitting
helmet of the Wyomings, being large and bushy-looking, for in the
Winslow territory there were many stretches of nearly bare land, with
occasional scrubby pines, and a Winslow caught in the open, on the
approach of a Han airship, would twist himself into a motionless
imitation of a scrubby plant, that passed very successfully for the real
thing, when viewed from several thousand feet in the air.

The Susquannas had a unit that was equipped with inertron shields, that
were of the same shape as those of the ancient Romans, but much larger,
and capable of concealing their bearers from head to foot when they
crouched slightly. These shields, of course, were colored forest green,
and were irregularly shaded; they were balanced with inertron, so that
their effective weight was only a few ounces. They were curious too, in
that they had handles for both hands, and two small reservoir
rocket-guns built into them as integral parts.

In going into action, the Susquannas crouched slightly, holding the
shields before them with both hands, looking through a narrow vision
slit, and working both rocket guns. The shields, however, were a great
handicap in leaping, and in advancing through heavy forest growth.

The field unit of the Delawares was also heavily armored. It was one of
the most efficient bodies of shock troops in our entire line. They
carried circular shields, about three feet in diameter, with a vision
slit and a small rocket gun. These shields were held at arm's length in
the left hand on going into action. In the right hand was carried an
ax-gun, an affair not unlike the battle-ax of the Middle Ages. It was
about three feet long. The shaft consisted of a rocket gun, with an
ax-blade near the muzzle, and a spike at the other end. It was a
terrible weapon. Jointed leg-guards protected the ax-gunner below the
rim of his shield, and a h