"You have your point," Homer Crawford admitted. "Follow through, Dave. Figure out some screening program." * * * * * Cliff came in. "Hey, Homer. Guess what old Jake has done." "Jake Armstrong?" "He's swung the Africa for Africans Association in New York over to us. They've raised a million bucks. What'll we do with it? How can he get anything to us?" "We'll have him plow it back into publicity and further fund raising campaigns," Homer said. "That's the way it's done. You raise some money for some cause and then spend it all on a bigger campaign to raise still more money, and what you get from that one you plow into a still bigger campaign." Cliff said, "Don't you _ever_ get anything out of it?" Dave and Homer both laughed. Cliff said, "I've got some still better news." "Good news, we can use," Homer said. * * * * * The big Californian looked at him in pretended awe. "A poet no less," he said. "Shut up," Homer said. "What's the news?" The fact of the matter was, he was becoming increasingly impatient of the continual banter expected of him by Cliff and even the others. As original members of the team, they expected an intimacy that he was finding it increasingly difficult to deliver. Among other things, he wished that Cliff, in particular, would mind his attitude when such followers as Guémama were present. The El Hassan posture could be maintained only in never to be compromised dignity. Bey had once compared him to Alexander, to Homer's amusement at the time. But now he was beginning to sympathize with the position the Macedonian leader had found himself in, betwixt the King-God conscious Persians, and the rough and ready Companions who formed his bodyguard and crack cavalry units. A King-God simply didn't banter with his subordinates, not even his blood-kin. Cliff scowled at him now, at the sharpness of Homer's words, but he made his report. "Our old pal, Sven Zetterberg. He's gone out on a limb. Because of the great danger of this so-far localized fight spreading into world-wide conflict--says old Sven--the Reunited Nations will not tolerate the combat going into the air. He says that if _either_ El Hassan or the Arab Legion resort to use of aircraft, the Reunited Nations will send in its air fleet." "Wow," Homer said. "All the aircraft we've got are a few slow-moving heliocopters that Kenny brought up with him." Dave Moroka snapped his fingers in a gesture of elation. "That means Zetterberg is throwing his weight to our side." Homer was on his feet. "Send for Kenny and Guémama and send a heliocopter down to pick up Bey and rush him here. He shouldn't be more than a day's march away. I wonder what Elmer is up to. No word at all from him. At any rate, we want an immediate council of war. With Arab Legion air cover eliminated, we can move in." Cliff said sourly, "It's still largely rifles against armored cars, tanks, mobile artillery and even flame throwers."