"Of course I did," Zen stoutly insisted. "When you went to sleep, I knew it was a trick designed to lure me by suggestion into the belief that I was sleepy, too." "Then why did you let me do it?" "I wanted to see how far you would go," he answered. "Come on. Let's get out of here." "What about them? Are they shamming too?" She pointed to the bodies on the floor. "They're up there, watching," he said, gesturing toward the ceiling. He laughed. Owlishly, she stared at him. "I do believe you are out of your mind, colonel." "It helps," he said. "Come on. Let's make tracks." "That's a splendid idea, colonel. Except for one thing." "What's that?" She pointed to the sleeping lieutenant. "He said he had left some men with a machine gun." "Damn! I had forgotten that. However, that is a problem that can be solved." "How?" "This way." He moved to the heavy machine gun mounted at the window so that its muzzle covered the street. He had his finger on the trigger and was searching the street when he realized that she was pulling at his arm and speaking to him. "What?" he said. "No," she answered. Her voice was very firm. "Are you out of your mind?" he demanded. "We don't have to shoot them," she replied. "Why not?" "Because they are already taken care of." "Eh? How do you know?" "I know." "Then you also know how these men here were put to sleep?" His voice had the sound of steel on stone. She faced him without fear. "Yes." "You did it?" "No." "Then who did?" "Come and I will show you." "Hunh!" Zen grunted. He made up his mind without hesitation. Starting toward the back door, he discovered that she was going out the front. "But that door is probably covered," he protested. She opened it without answering his protest. Going through it, Zen thought the night outside was far colder than it had any right to be. Nedra moved without hesitation. Fifty yards away from the house a machine gun mounted on a tripod was set up in the street. Two men were lying on the ground beside it. In the quiet night, Zen could hear them snoring. "All right," he said. "I have to admit you knew what you were talking about. But if you didn't do this, who did?" "Just a minute and you will have an answer to your question," she replied. A block beyond the machine gun, a tall figure lounged in the doorway of a ruined building. "Hi, kids," he said. At the first sound of the deep bass voice Zen knew that this was West. The craggy man nodded to him. West did not seem in the least surprised to see Zen. "What the hell are you doing here?" Zen said. "I had business here," West said, in a tone of voice that made Zen feel like an errant schoolboy being reproved by a kind, but firm, teacher. "Did you make those people go to sleep?" Zen continued. "Has somebody been sleeping?" West answered. "Hmm." "Yes," Zen said. "Did you run into some difficulty?" West asked Nedra. He ignored Zen.