miles beyond the summit, they came to a place where thick trees on both sides of the highway shaded the road so the sun never reached it. The ice was continuous for a hundred feet or more, and it was covered with three inches of unmelted snow. The sedan skidded out of control. Tynia screamed and hid her face in her hands. Tchassen fought the wheel futilely. The car spun toward the shoulder, banged against a tree, and slid across the road into a clearing in front of an abandoned building.

In the sudden silence Tchassen heard nothing but the whisper of icy wind in the trees. He opened the door and looked at the deserted building. The roofs of the smaller structures nearby had collapsed under the pressure of winter snows, but the main building, sheltered by tall pines, was in good repair.

"We'd be warmer inside," Tchassen suggested. "In the morning after the sun comes out—"

"Captain!" Briggan broke in. "We must reach the coast!"

"—after the sun comes out, the ice on the road should begin to melt; the driving will be much easier."

"Don't you realize, sir—these mountains are enemy territory?"

"We're still well-armed, Sergeant."

"We had the rays in Reno, too, but Drein's dead."

"I tell you we'll be safe here. I remember a trick I saw demonstrated at the school of tactics."

"You security men have the advantage. I'm just an enlisted non-com. I never went to the military schools and learned any fancy tricks, but I know I have a duty to reach the coast and report what's happened."

Tynia took Briggan's arm. "The sedan won't run, Sergeant. Surely you aren't saying we have to walk—"

"It's interesting, isn't it, that the car stopped right here—in front of a place where it would be so convenient for us to spend the night?"

"What do you mean, Briggan?"

"I wasn't doing the driving, Tynia."

A hard knot of anger exploded in Tchassen's mind, but he held his temper. It was easier to ignore Briggan than to answer his suspicion. In a tone that concealed his feelings, the Captain said, "Let me show you what I saw them do in the demonstration, Sergeant." He slid out of the sedan. With numb fingers, he opened the firing box of the portable 

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