gh if things stayed this
way, it would work against them later, when the Marines landed and they
wanted to be found.

That was more than a day away, though, he thought as the sun began to
set. He rigged a door out of blankets, to block any lamplight that
might get past the turns in the cave. He should have done that the
night before, he told himself, but it simply hadn't occurred to him; it
was just luck that they'd gotten away with his lack of foresight.

The night passed, but more slowly than he'd realized would be possible.
Tarlac was delirious for several hours, and Dave spent most of that
time wrapping him in cold-water-soaked blankets, wiping his face, and
trickling water into his mouth. Shortly before dawn, to Dave's
combined relief and worry, delirium deepened into coma and Dave's
fatigue forced him to take advantage of the silence for a nap.

When he woke, he heard aircars again. They sounded closer than they
had the day before, and worry turned into fear. The rebels might not
be wilderness experts, the way Nemra's Rescue Service people were, but
it didn't take that kind of expert to tell the difference between a
mountain-prowler's yowling and a sick man's fever-induced cries. He'd
been concerned about that all night, but hadn't been able to do
anything about them--and now it looked like the rebels knew at least
their general location. Only the general location, he hoped, since
they were still searching from cars. That was standard procedure for
the Rescue Service, at least, so he tried to ignore them while he cared
for his patient.

He'd gotten used to the smell, for which he was grateful. That and the
fact that Tarlac was beyond the reach of pain were the only good parts
he could see. The poison was spreading steadily, but--as long as he
kept the oozing fluid cleaned off, and kept Tarlac's temperature as low
as he could--slowly. Maybe slowly enough that he'd live through the
next twenty-four hours, if Dave could keep going that long. And if he
didn't have to leave the Ranger alone to play decoy.

He frowned, thinking as he worked. Playing decoy if the rebels got
close had been his idea, and he was still pleased that Tarlac had
thought it a good enough one to agree with. It still would be, and it
would work, Dave thought, if Tarlac were strong enough to be left
alone--and preferably were able to defend himself, just in case. But
he'd put Dave in charge precisely because he wasn't able to do