id you find us? Who did you just radio?
Where'd you come from?"

"I say, hold it," Donaldson chuckled sourly. "First of all, I've come
to join up. I thought as far back as that time we co-operated in
quelling the riots in Mopti that you ought to do this--proclaim
yourself El Hassan. When I heard you'd taken the step, I came to join
up."

"Oh, great," Cliff said. "What took you so long? We hardly get here,
to our ultra-secret hideout, than here you are."

Isobel came with the coffee and handed it around, silently. Then she,
too, settled to the rug which covered the sand of the floor.

Rex Donaldson turned to Cliff and there was a wrinkle of amusement in
the older man's eyes. "I took so long, because I needed the time to
recruit a few other chaps I knew would stand with us."

Crawford rapped, "That's who you just radioed?"

"Of course, old boy. I'd hardly bring the opposition down on us, would
I?"

"Where are they?"

"In a couple of hovercraft, similar to your own, possibly twenty
kilometers to the southwest."

"You still haven't told us how you found us?"

The little man shrugged. "After tendering my resignation to Sir
Winton, I considered the possibilities, which narrowed down very
quickly when I heard the Arab Legion had taken Tamanrasset."

"Why?" Isobel said.

Donaldson shot a glance at her. "Because, my dear, unless El Hassan is
able to retake Tamanrasset, his movement has come a cropper." He
turned his eyes back to Crawford, who was nervously running his hand
through his hair. "I knew you had done considerable work in this area,
so your whereabouts became obvious seeing that Tamanrasset is in
Tuareg country. It was simply a matter of finding what Tuareg
encampment was your base, and since your quickest manner of gathering
support would be to swing the Amenokal to your banner, I headed for
his usual encampment this time of year."

Cliff looked at Homer Crawford. "If Rex found us so easily, so will
anybody else."

Isobel put in. "Not necessarily. Mr. Donaldson has information that
most of El Hassan's opponents wouldn't."

* * * * *

Homer came to his feet unhappily and began pacing. "No, Isobel.
Ostrander, for instance, has all the dope Rex has and is just as
capable of working it through to a conclusion. It takes no great
insight to realize El Hassan has to either put up or shut up when it
comes to Tamanrasset. That's possibly why some of the other elements
inter