Geoffrey had always had a lively interest in strange surroundings. He had regretted the day his journeyings came to an end--not that he hadn't regretted his father's passing even more. Now, as dawn came up behind them, he could not help turning his head from side to side and looking at the strangely humped land, seeing for the first time a horizon which was not flat. He found himself intrigued by the thought that he had no way of knowing what lay beyond the next hill--that he would have to travel, and keep traveling, to satisfy a perpetually renewed curiosity. All this occupied one part of his mind. Simultaneously, he wondered how much farther they'd travel in this vehicle. The huge sixteen-cylinder in-line engine was by now delivering about one-fourth of its rated fifty horsepower, with a good half of its spark plugs hopelessly fouled and the carburetor choked by the dust of yesterday's battle. They were very low on shot and powder charges for the two-pounder turret cannon, as well. The tankette had of course never been serviced after the battle. There was one good thing--neither had their pursuers'. Looking back, Geoffrey could see no sign of them. But he could also see the plain imprint of the tankette's steel cleats stretched out behind them in a betraying line. The rigid, unsprung track left its mark on hard stone as easily as it did in soft earth. The wonder was that the tracks had not quite worn themselves out as yet, though all the rivets were badly strained and the tankette sounded like a barrel of stones tumbling downhill. The Barbarian had spent the night with one arm thrown over the cannon barrel and the fingers of his other hand hooked over the edge of the turret hatch. In spite of the tankette's vicious jouncing, he had not moved or changed his position. Now he raised one hand to comb the shaggy hair away from his forehead, and there were faint bloody marks on the hatch. "How much farther until we're over the mountains?" Geoffrey asked him. "Over the--lad, we haven't even come to the beginning of them yet." Geoffrey grimaced. "Then we'll never make it. Not in this vehicle." "I didn't expect to. We'll walk until we reach the pass. I've got a support camp set up there." "Walk? This is impossible country for people on foot. There are intransigent tribesmen all through this territory." "How do you know?" "How do I _know_? Why, everybody knows about them!" The Barbarian looked at him thoughtfully, and with just the faintest trace of amusement. "Well, if _everybody_ knows they're intransigent, I guess they are. I guess we'll just have to hope they don't spot us."