d by the dis ray. The forest
screen above it, however, had been annihilated, and it was determined to
abandon it, after removing all usable machinery and evidences of the
processes that might be of interest to the Han scientists, should they
return to the valley in the future.

The ammunition plant, and the rocket-ship plant, which had just been
about to start operation at the time of the raid, were intact, as were
the other important plants.

Hart brought the Camboss up from the Susquanna Works, and laid out new
camp locations, scattering them farther to the south, and avoiding
ground which had been seared by the Han beams and the immediate
locations of the Han wrecks.

During this period, a sharp check was kept upon Han messages, for the
phone plant had been one of the first to be put in operation, and when
it became evident that the Hans did not intend any immediate reprisals,
the entire membership of the community was summoned back, and normal
life was resumed.

Wilma and I had been married the day after the destruction of the ships,
and spent this intervening period in a delightful honeymoon, camping
high in the mountains. On our return, we had a camp of our own, of
course. We were assigned to location 1017. And as might be expected, we
had a great deal of banter over which one of us was Camp Boss. The title
stood after my name on the Big Boss' records, and those of the Big
Camboss, of course, but Wilma airily held that this meant nothing at
all--and generally succeeded in making me admit it whenever she chose.

I found myself a full-fledged member of the Gang now, for I had elected
to search no farther for a permanent alliance, much as I would have
liked to familiarize myself with this 25th Century life in other
sections of the country. The Wyomings had a high morale, and had
prospered under the rule of Big Boss Hart for many years. But many of
the gangs, I found, were badly organized, lacked strong hands in
authority, and were rife with intrigue. On the whole, I thought I would
be wise to stay with a group which had already proved its friendliness,
and in which I seemed to have prospects of advancement. Under these
modern social and economic conditions, the kind of individual freedom to
which I had been accustomed in the 20th Century was impossible. I would
have been as much of a nonentity in every phase of human relationship by
attempting to avoid alliances, as any man of the 20th Century would have
been p