Margot Drake glanced at a wrist watch. "But I must warn you. My girls should have brought up the rocket gun by this time. If I'm not out in half an hour, they'll shell the ship." Isaac Trigg's jaw dropped. "But, really! That's preposterous!" he sputtered. "Why in heaven's name should they shell us?" The red-headed woman smiled faintly. "Obviously, you've no idea of the situation today." "Obviously," Matt agreed. "But we've hope of finding out from you. If you'll just step this way, Miss Drake...." When the strange white man saw the red-headed woman, he cowered terrified in the opposite corner. "So there you are, Scobbie," Margot Drake said in a cold voice. "I'll flay the hide off of you for this." Scobbie snarled like a cornered animal. "I'm not going back!" Margot turned to the director. "You'll return this man to me, of course." Trigg sputtered, tugging nervously at his wispy beard. It was Matt again who answered. "If he wants to go, he can go. If he wants to stay, he stays." "But he's mine!" Margot's green eyes flashed. Matt said, "We don't recognize the right of anyone to own somebody else." "You've a lot to learn!" "That's what I'm waiting for. How did you happen to survive the plague?" Margot Drake's eyes narrowed. She glanced again at her watch before replying. "The plague didn't kill everyone. A few escaped. In the last days, it was already beginning to wear itself out. For some reason the women were less susceptible than the men. Only a few men survived, but possibly a hundred thousand women." "Do you mean here in Kentucky?" "I mean in the world!" Matt swallowed. Still it was more than he had hoped. The red-headed woman went on, "Quite naturally, women are dominant. And what few men are left are highly prized. For instance, there are three hundred women in my band--but only two men." "Lord!" said Matt, "what a life they must lead!" Someone snickered. "Where are you camped?" "Farther down the creek by the farmhouse." "How do you live?" Matt inquired. "Off the fat of the land. We're nomadic. Cars and trailers. There's plenty of gasoline and food for the taking. When a car breaks down, we commandeer another. We're trekking north for the summer. Lake Michigan. We'll head back to Mexico in the winter." She glanced at her watch again. "If I don't leave now, they'll begin to shell the ship. Will someone unlock the port? And take good care of that man for me. I'll be back for him." Scobbie, crouched in the corner, growled at her words. Matt and Captain Bascom went with the red-head to open the port. But when they got there, it was already unlocked, standing open. Moonlight flooded the passage. Matt swore. Captain Bascom said, "Who did this?" But Margot Drake only smiled slyly. She slipped down the ladder and paused to wave. "I'll be seeing you soon," she called and, without waiting for a reply, turned and strode lithely toward the wood.