e Reds come----"

"You talk as if they _will_ come," cut in Lupe. "How can you be sure?"

"We can't," Travis agreed. "But we can count on this much, judging from
the past. Once they know that there is a wrecked ship here, they will be
forced to explore it. They cannot afford an enemy settlement on this
side of the mountains. That would be, according to their way of
thinking, an eternal threat."

Jil-Lee nodded. "That is true. This is a complicated plan, yes, and one
in which many things may go wrong. But it is also one which covers all
the loopholes we know of."

With Lupe's aid Manulito crawled out of the suit. As he leaned it
carefully against a supporting rock he said:

"I have been thinking of this treasure house in the towers. Suppose we
could find new weapons there...."

Travis hesitated. He still shrank from the thought of opening the secret
places behind those glowing walls, to loose a new peril.

"If we took weapons from there and lost the fight...." He advanced his
first objection and was glad to see the expression of comprehension on
Jil-Lee's face.

"It would be putting the weapons straight into Red hands," the other
agreed.

"We may have to chance it before we're through," Manulito warned.
"Suppose we do get some of their technicians into this trap. That isn't
going to open up their main defense for us. We may need a bigger
nutcracker than we've ever seen."

With a return of that queasy feeling he had known in the tower, Travis
knew Manulito was speaking sense. They might have to open Pandora's box
before the end of this campaign.

15

They camped another two days near the wrecked ship while Manulito
prowled the haunted corridors and cabins in his space suit, planning his
booby trap. At night he drew diagrams on pieces of bark and discussed
the possibility of this or that device, sometimes lapsing into
technicalities his companions could not follow. But Travis was well
satisfied that Manulito knew what he was doing.

On the morning of the third day Nolan slipped into their midst. He was
dust-grimed, his face gaunt, the signs of hard travel plain to read.
Travis handed him the nearest canteen, and they watched him drink
sparingly in small sips before he spoke.

"They come ... with the girl--"

"You had trouble?" asked Jil-Lee.

"The Tatars had moved their camp, which was only wise, since the Reds
must have had a line on the other one. And they are now farther to the
west. But--"