st said, "We'll
have plenty of chance to talk, Rick. At the moment I'm concerned with
getting out of here. After a bit of exploration of course. It's almost
certain that the heavy water comes from here. Although I don't know the
source."

Scotty motioned toward the Lake of Darkness. "Bradley said to bring a
Nansen bottle and a rubber boat. He must have known about this. Why
would he say to bring a Nansen bottle if not to take a sample from the
lake?"

Zircon flashed a look at Long Shadow. The Eurasian smiled gently.
"That's a good question Mr. Scott asked," he told them. "But don't look
to me for the answer."

"Search the tents," Zircon ordered. "Chahda, keep an eye on our two
friends."

The three Americans walked to the felt tents and began searching through
them. Zircon used the infrared camera. Rick and Scotty took torches.

Rick was feeling through a pile of furs when Zircon called, "Here are
the flashlights!"

Zircon's had run down, but Scotty's, and Chahda's big lights were still
useful. They made the search much easier. Rick went back to the pile of
skins and found that they were plastic-lined water bags, similar to the
ones they had found on the way to Korse Lenken. Then, stacked in a
corner of the tent, he found some Nansen bottles!

At the same moment, Scotty called from the next tent. "Look what I
found!"

He had located the ammunition supply. There was powder and ball for the
old muskets the Tibetans used, two boxes of machine pistol cartridges,
and a small case of grenades!

"Now we know where Ko got the one he tried to use on us," Rick said.
"But where did they come from in the first place?"

"The war," Scotty guessed. "There must be tons of ammo and ordnance of
all kinds floating around China. What makes me wonder is why the
Tibetans don't have modern rifles."

"I suspect the answer is their natural conservatism," Zircon suggested.
"They are slow to change. And such guns as they use are handed down from
father to son. I don't doubt that modern rifles were offered them and
that they refused."

Rick knew something of the Oriental mind, although not much, and he
realized that Zircon was probably right. In a land of ancestor worship,
change was resisted.

Scotty stuffed grenades in each pocket. "Just in case we get into a
fight on the way out," he explained.

Rick was glad to leave the deadly things to his friend. Scotty knew
about grenades from his tour of duty in the Marines; he had thro