their crops and goods
to market.

"See the cart!" Mara exclaimed.

They were nearing a narrow road, two ruts worn into the sand. A Martian
hufa was pulling the cart, its great sides wet with perspiration, its
tongue hanging out. The cart was piled high with bales of cloth, rough
country cloth, hand dipped. A bent farmer urged the hufa on.

"And there." She pointed, smiling.

A group of merchants riding small animals were moving along behind the
cart, Martians in long robes, their faces hidden by sand masks. On each
animal was a pack, carefully tied on with rope. And beyond the
merchants, plodding dully along, were peasants and farmers in an endless
procession, some riding carts or animals, but mostly on foot.

Mara and Jan and Erick joined the line of people, melting in behind the
merchants. No one noticed them; no one looked up or gave any sign. The
march continued as before. Neither Jan nor Mara said anything to each
other. They walked a little behind Erick, who paced with a certain
dignity, a certain bearing becoming his position.

Once he slowed down, pointing up at the sky. "Look," he murmured, in the
Martian hill dialect. "See that?"

Two black dots circled lazily. Martian patrol craft, the military on the
outlook for any sign of unusual activity. War was almost ready to break
out with Terra. Any day, almost any moment.

"We'll be just in time," Erick said. "Tomorrow will be too late. The
last ship will have left Mars."

"I hope nothing stops us," Mara said. "I want to get back home when
we're through."

* * * * *

Half an hour passed. They neared the City, the wall growing as they
walked, rising higher and higher until it seemed to blot out the sky
itself. A vast wall, a wall of eternal stone that had felt the wind and
sun for centuries. A group of Martian soldiers were standing at the
entrance, the single passage-gate hewn into the rock, leading to the
City. As each person went through the soldiers examined him, poking his
garments, looking into his load.

Erick tensed. The line had slowed almost to a halt. "It'll be our turn,
soon," he murmured. "Be prepared."

"Let's hope no Leiters come around," Jan said. "The soldiers aren't so
bad."

Mara was staring up at the wall and the towers beyond. Under their feet
the ground trembled, vibrating and shaking. She could see tongues of
flame rising from the towers, from the deep underground factories and
forges of the Ci