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The groundcar rolled westward, slashing toward its goal from the distant lowland of Solis Lacus. Far away, two men, machineless, plodded this same Xanthe Desert toward the same goal; but they plodded southward, approaching on a different radius. They were naked.
The streets were fairly crowded with strollers most of them Class Four or Five citizens who stepped deferentially aside as soon as they saw his uniform, and kept their eyes averted from him. Now and then, the power car of a Class Three rolled swiftly by, and The Guesser felt a slight twinge of envy. Technically, his own rank was the equivalent of Class Three, but he had never owned a groundcar.
We're afoot and in trouble. We're afoot, due southwest from your position. Help, please. Attention, groundcar!" There was no radio reply in the ensuing silence. But all at once it was as though a deep and alien voice spoke within the depths of Maya's mind: "We see you." Startled, she looked curiously at Nuwell. But he evidently had not had the same experience.
Pietro: Shall I bring my group from Mars City as reinforcements? Dark: No, twelve will be enough, and the conquest of the farm will depend on speed. Before you can get there with your group by groundcar, the government will have a well-armed force there by jet. I want you to load trucks with supplies, gather all the wives and go straight to the Icaria Desert to establish our colony.
She went up to her room. It did not take her long to pack, and to dress in a tunic and trousers for travel. When she came back down to the lobby, Nuwell was waiting, and they took a groundcar from the chateau to the dome airlock. The three government agents who had come with Nuwell from Mars City had the helicopter ready for them on the flat lowland just beyond the airlock.
Yes, they were still wet. There were remnants of fresh food in the garbage can. People, here? Camping out? Or, more likely, someone passing through the desert who had taken shelter here for the night? But he thought he would have heard the roar of a groundcar leaving. Thoughtfully, Dark finished his breakfast.
The groundcar was enclosed, with room for a driver and the three from the Med Ship. But armed men festooned themselves about its exterior and it went bumping and rolling to the massive ground-layer girders of the grid. It rolled out under them and onto a paved highway. It picked up speed. There were buildings on either side of the road, but few showed lights.
Above them in the Mars-blue dome of day, the weak sun turned downward, warning of its eventual departure. A two-passengered groundcar and two men, widely apart, and yet bound for the same destination.... The destination was a lone, sprawling building in the desert. It could have been a huge warehouse, or a fortress, of black, almost windowless Martian stone.
Accelerating at full power, Dark drove the groundcar out of the garage and spun into the street. The men afoot, seeking entrance to the houses, paid no attention.
Murgatroyd was brought, his small paunch distended with cakes and coffee and such delicacies as he'd been plied with. He was half comatose from overfeeding and overpetting, but he was glad to see Calhoun. Calhoun held the little creature in his arms as the official groundcar raced through traffic with screaming sirens claiming the right of way.
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