e his report.

"Our old pal, Sven Zetterberg. He's gone out on a limb. Because of the
great danger of this so-far localized fight spreading into world-wide
conflict--says old Sven--the Reunited Nations will not tolerate the
combat going into the air. He says that if _either_ El Hassan or the
Arab Legion resort to use of aircraft, the Reunited Nations will send
in its air fleet."

"Wow," Homer said. "All the aircraft we've got are a few slow-moving
heliocopters that Kenny brought up with him."

Dave Moroka snapped his fingers in a gesture of elation. "That means
Zetterberg is throwing his weight to our side."

Homer was on his feet. "Send for Kenny and Guemama and send a
heliocopter down to pick up Bey and rush him here. He shouldn't be
more than a day's march away. I wonder what Elmer is up to. No word at
all from him. At any rate, we want an immediate council of war. With
Arab Legion air cover eliminated, we can move in."

Cliff said sourly, "It's still largely rifles against armored cars,
tanks, mobile artillery and even flame throwers."

* * * * *

All the old hands were present. They stood about a map table, Homer
and Bey-ag-Akhamouk at one end, the rest clustered about. Isobel sat
in a chair to the rear, stenographer's pad on her knees.

Bey was clipping out suggestions.

"We have them now. Already our better trained men are heading up for
Temassinine to the north and Fort Charlet to the east. We'll lose men
but we'll knock out every water hole between here and Libya. We'll cut
every road, blow what few bridges there are."

Jack Peters said worriedly, "But the important thing is Tamanrasset.
What good--"

"We're cutting their supply line," Bey told him. "Can't you see?
Colonel Ibrahim and his motorized column will be isolated in
Tamanrasset. They won't be able to get supplies through without an air
lift and Sven Zetterberg's ultimatum kills that possibility. They're
blocked off."

Jimmy Peters was as confused as his brother. "So what? to use the
Americanism. They have both food and water in abundance. They can hold
out indefinitely. Meanwhile, our forces are undisciplined irregulars.
We gain a thousand recruits a day. They come galloping in on
camel-back or in beat-up old vehicles, firing their hunting rifles
into the air. But we also lose a thousand a day. They get bored, or
hungry, and decide to go back to their flocks, or their jobs on the
new Sahara projects. At an