Asa tugged at the body of the Slider until he got it off the skids of the plane. He pulled with all his strength at the rotor blade sunk in the mud, but the weight of the helicopter was upon it and the mud held it with a suction of its own. After a few minutes he had to give up. "We fight off the Sliders, then," she said, as matter of factly as if that problem was settled. "If it's any comfort, I know how to handle the machine-gun." "Nope. In this drizzle, at night, the Sliders would be on us before we could see them. We've got to try to get back." He stood in thought while she stared at him patiently. "What happened to the other muck men who went out today?" he asked. "They were called in when the 'copter came out the first time. Some of them may not have got back yet." Asa started talking into his radio. "Calling all muck men. This is Asa Graybar. All muck men, listen. This is Graybar. I am five miles out with Miss Hazeltyne, who came to rescue me after I saved Kershaw from a Slider. The helicopter is smashed. We're slogging in." He looked at her for a nod of confirmation and repeated the message. "Graybar?" came a voice in his earphones. "What do you want?" Asa grinned at Harriet as he continued. "Go on back to the settlement. Tell the others. Then organize a party to come help us. Bearing 150 degrees." "Right," said the unidentified voice. "I got it too," said another voice in the headset. "Muck men stick together." Good, Asa thought. At least two muckers were still out. They would tell the others. "Cancel all that," said a third voice. "This is Dorr speaking. Nobody goes out until I give the word." Asa didn't fancy waiting. "By authority of Miss Hazeltyne," he said rapidly, "Dorr is no longer manager. I am acting manager." He saw Harriet's eyebrows go up, for she couldn't hear the other end of what was going on. "Disregard Dorr," he continued. "If you can help us get back, Miss Hazeltyne will make changes to benefit all of us." Before he could say any more his ear was stricken with the noise of loud static. Dorr was making sure no more radio messages got through. Asa quickly told Harriet what had happened. The girl smiled with one side of her mouth. "Fine," she said, "but how am I supposed to cross the muck?" "On my back," Asa turned and entered the helicopter cabin. All the time he had been talking he had been worrying about the fact that he had only three rockets left for his gun. Quickly he checked the ammunition for the machine-gun, found it was the same caliber, and felt that at last one break had gone his way. He took the plastic ammunition belts outside. "Load your pockets with these," he told the girl, pulling the rockets from their loops. Then, tying the plastic belts together, he fashioned a sling she could sit in with her legs at his sides. Finally he handed her his gun. "If you see a Slider," he said, "shoot for the head. Now climb on and hold tight to my gun harness and we'll try our luck."