"It should take a couple of hours for their scout cars to reach us. If we fortify the bridge so that they have to cross at Shepherdsville, their main body'll have to go over a hundred miles out of their way. We can count on from eight to ten hours." "Not too much time!" Isaac muttered. "No," Matt agreed, "it isn't." He turned to the palaeontologist. "Fetch the walkie-talkie and the rifles, Nesbit. You and I and Isaac had better look over the fort. "Captain Bascom, will you see that everyone starts at once to packing? I'll leave this end of the moving up to you." He touched the button beside the port The ladder slowly descended. VI There was a vivid spring greenness about the grass and foliage that Matt couldn't recall having seen outside of England. To their left, the muddy Salt emptied into the muddy Ohio behind them. The turf underfoot was soft and springy. Flanked by Nesbit and Isaac Trigg, Matt crossed to the disused drive. Dead leaves and twigs littered it all the way to the gate, where it disappeared through heavy steel doors into the fort. The doors themselves, large enough to admit a freight car, stood open, a drift of dead leaves piled against one massive panel. "It's bristling with guns!" Isaac Trigg pointed at a row of slots that ran across the second story. The grim snouts of fifty-calibre machine guns poked wickedly through the embrasures. Matt shifted his rifle into a handier position. He had seen the canvas covered barrel of a 5.35 dual-purpose anti-aircraft gun on the roof. Above the third floor, rows of windows began, narrow slits closed with heavy bulletproof glass. Higher up, he made out banks of rocket guns. "Seven months," he said half to himself. "Eh?" "I was thinking that only seven months have elapsed since these guns were serviced. We should have no trouble getting them into operation." He paused before the gaping entrance, peering into the dark cavern ahead of them. "Get out your light," he told Nesbit. The younger man snapped on his flash, the blade of light piercing the gloom. The drive, Matt saw, led into a vaulted hall. Along one side ran freight elevators. A loading platform lined the opposite wall. At the rear, a spiral ramp led up from the basement to the floors above. An abandoned truck was still in one of the elevators. "If we can get the truck running," suggested Nesbit, "we can move the equipment faster." Matt nodded. "Do you smell anything?" "Yes," agreed Isaac. "It's not bad here, though," said Nesbit. He was still stiff with Matt and addressed his comments pointedly to the director. Matt said, "No. I imagine the living quarters are on the top floors. Some of the men in space suits will have to clear out the rooms. But that can wait. I'm curious about the source of power for the elevators and lights. Let's try the basement."