ozen peaks beyond. Here, some two hundred yards further up, a four
foot tunnel, shaded by a boulder, led deep into the mountainside.
Stooping to enter, he walked till he was weary and stiff with a sharp
pain in his back, then walked much farther.

*

It was late evening, darkening to full night. Two men walked through
the opening with the shield still dissipating. The familiar face came
first, then to her dismay the woman saw that the stranger was white.
He studied her as they approached, with the same hard cold gleam as the
other.

"I don't know," he said, turning to the guerrilla. "She has the looks,
but not much grit, seemingly. The face is much too soft."

Lawrence said nothing, hung his coat on a peg by the wall. She half
expected him to draw out a hidden knife and bury it in the white man's
back. But the two stood side by side, and she realized that she was
the outsider, the one in question. The tall, fair-haired man stood
looking her up and down like a slave at auction. She got angry.

"What am I, a piece of meat?"

"Shut up and get us some water," said the black man. She turned on
him, furious.

"How dare you talk to me like that? How dare you? And if you think
you're going to turn me over to this Nazi---" She ran to the wall and
grabbed the laser rifle, pointed it right at him.

But the older man just laughed grimly, and the fantasy fell apart.
"You see what I mean?" he said. "She has some grit. Put away the
rifle, Elonna."

"All right, but you get your own water." He did, retiring to the back
while the other placed his rifle on the table and sat down. Elonna
faced him angrily. "You just watch how you look at me." Then she
walked to the entrance, still unshielded, with the boy and went out.

The tall man watched her go, then turned to face his friend as he came
out with a filled water bottle. The guerrilla handed it to him,
reactivated the shield and returned to the table. They passed the
water back and forth between them.

"She is very beautiful, Lawrence. But have we the right to ask her to
do this?"

"We have the right to ask. But there will be no secrets among us. She
will know who we are, and fully understand the danger before we ask her
to do anything. There is no hurry. I haven't fully judged her
character yet myself. This will take time to set up on your end,
anyway. We may not even get the chance."

"I think we will, if we are patient." A pause. "I did