* * * * * When they started down the street, she was nervous despite Roddie's assertion that he knew where the soldiers were posted. He wondered if she felt some of the doubt he'd tried to conceal, shared his visions of what the soldiers might do if they found him brazenly strolling with an Invader. They might not believe he was only questioning a prisoner. Every day, his friends were becoming more unpredictable. For that very reason, because he didn't know what precautions would do any good, he took a chance and walked openly to the bridge by the most direct route. In time this apparent assurance stilled Ida's fears, and she began to talk. Many of the things she said were beyond his experience and meaningless to him, but he did note with interest how effective the soldiers had been. "It's awful," Ida said. "So few young men are left, so many casualties.... "But why do you--we--keep up the fight?" Roddie asked. "I mean, the soldiers will never leave the city; their purpose is to guard it and they _can't_ leave, so they won't attack. Let them alone, and there'll be plenty of young men." "Well!" said Ida, sharply. "You need indoctrination! Didn't they ever tell you that the city is our home, even if the stupid androids do keep us out? Don't you know how dependent we are on these raids for all our tools and things?" She sounded suspicious. Roddie shot her a furtive, startled glance. But she wasn't standing off to fight him. On the contrary, she was too close for both comfort and combat. She bumped him hip and shoulder every few steps, and if he edged away, she followed. He went on with his questioning. "Why are _you_ here? I mean, sure, the others are after tools and things, but what's _your_ purpose?" Ida shrugged. "I'll admit no girl has ever done it before," she said, "but I thought I could help with the wounded. That's why I have no weapon." She hesitated, glanced covertly up at him, and went on with a rush of words. "It's the lack of men, I guess. All the girls are kind of bored and hopeless, so I got this bright idea and stowed away on one of the boats when it was dark and the fog had settled down. Do you think I was being silly?" "No, but you do seem a little purposeless." In silence they trudged through a vast area of charred wood and concrete foundations on the northern end of the city. Thick fog over the water hid Alcatraz, but in-shore visibility was better, and they could see the beginning of the bridge approach. A stone rattled nearby. There was a clink of metal. Ida gasped, and clung to Roddie's arm. "Behind me!" he whispered urgently. "Get behind me and hold on!" He felt Ida's arms encircling his waist, her chin digging into his back below the left shoulder. Facing them, a hundred feet away, stood a soldier. He looked contemptuous, hostile. "It's all right," Roddie said, his voice breaking. There was a long, sullen, heart-stopping stare. Then the soldier turned and walked away.