"We had hoped that you would be undersurface when the sealing occurred. Your presence here is a nuisance. When the Soviets broke through, we were able to accomplish their sealing without--" "The Soviets? They broke through?" "Several months ago, they came up unexpectedly to see why the war had not been won. We were forced to act with speed. At this moment they are desperately attempting to cut new Tubes to the surface, to resume the war. We have, however, been able to seal each new one as it appears." The leady regarded the three men calmly. "We're cut off," Moss said, trembling. "We can't get back. What'll we do?" "How did you manage to seal the Tube so quickly?" Franks asked the leady. "We've been up here only two hours." "Bombs are placed just above the first stage of each Tube for such emergencies. They are heat bombs. They fuse lead and rock." Gripping the handle of his gun, Franks turned to Moss and Taylor. "What do you say? We can't go back, but we can do a lot of damage, the fifteen of us. We have Bender guns. How about it?" He looked around. The soldiers had wandered away again, back toward the exit of the building. They were standing outside, looking at the valley and the sky. A few of them were carefully climbing down the slope. "Would you care to turn over your suits and guns?" the A-class leady asked politely. "The suits are uncomfortable and you'll have no need for weapons. The Russians have given up theirs, as you can see." Fingers tensed on triggers. Four men in Russian uniforms were coming toward them from an aircraft that they suddenly realized had landed silently some distance away. "Let them have it!" Franks shouted. "They are unarmed," said the leady. "We brought them here so you could begin peace talks." "We have no authority to speak for our country," Moss said stiffly. "We do not mean diplomatic discussions," the leady explained. "There will be no more. The working out of daily problems of existence will teach you how to get along in the same world. It will not be easy, but it will be done." [Illustration] * * * * * The Russians halted and they faced each other with raw hostility. "I am Colonel Borodoy and I regret giving up our guns," the senior Russian said. "You could have been the first Americans to be killed in almost eight years." "Or the first Americans to kill," Franks corrected. "No one would know of it except yourselves," the leady pointed out. "It would be useless heroism. Your real concern should be surviving on the surface. We have no food for you, you know." Taylor put his gun in its holster. "They've done a neat job of neutralizing us, damn them. I propose we move into a city, start raising crops with the help of some leadys, and generally make ourselves comfortable." Drawing his lips tight over his teeth, he glared at the A-class leady. "Until our families can come up from undersurface, it's going to be pretty lonesome, but we'll have to manage."