When he got to the center of the bridge he halted the jeep. He got out and crossed over the lanes to the south railing and looked down at the gray water. It looks muddy, he thought. A wide, muddy snake winding its way down to the City. He looked at the horizon. He couldn't see the City but he knew it was there. He wondered for how long! It will light up like a torch, he thought. One huge sheet of red and orange flame a mile high, like the gates of hell swinging open. Then there would be nothing but a towering mushroom of black smoke to mark the spot of the largest City in the world. He found his hand clutching something in his pocket. He took it out and looked at it. Then, bitterly, he put it away. It was the yellow sheet of paper again. To read it would be torture. Lowary ran the zipper up on his loose fitting green field jacket as a sudden chill took him. He blamed it on the nonexistent wind as he lighted another cigarette. The sound of a motor caused him to look up. He narrowed his eyes, looking at the far end of the bridge. It was Lieutenant Kastner; he could tell by the foot resting carelessly on the outside fender. Kastner drove as though he were resting in an easy chair with his feet nestled on a hassock. Kastner swung out of the jeep loosely, with the grace of a well coordinated athlete. A wide grin split his face. "Just on my way to report to you, Captain. Everything is set up on my side." Lowary smiled. He had been on his way to check Kastner. Lowary took in the blond man's well proportioned body. Kastner looked like the recruit ad on a "wild-blue-yonder" poster. Kastner's eyes left Lowary's face. The Captain followed the other's gaze upward. Two long, white vapor trails were cutting across the blue sky. "They're ours," Kastner said. "They're heading North by East, toward the ocean." He looked at Lowary. "Maybe they can stop it before it starts!" "Maybe," the Captain said softly. In his heart he knew it was only a faint hope. The Air Force never tried to conceal the fact that some of the enemy could be expected to sneak through in the event of attack. "I don't think we'll have much trouble at our end of the bridge, Captain. I don't think anyone will be fighting to go in that direction," he nodded down the river, in the direction of the City. "I guess not," Lowary said absently. "This waiting can be murder," Kastner said. "It just doesn't seem right, waiting to be clobbered. Sitting here until they drop one down our throats before we can fight back." Lowary smiled bitterly. "It's always been that way, Kastner. I suppose it always will be." Lowary squashed the cigarette butt with his heel. "How's Meyers taking all this?" Kastner asked. Lowary raised his eyebrows. "His sister works in the City," Kastner went on. "They're pretty close."