At noon we were paralleling another mighty range, the little known Altai Mountains, and at one o'clock we passed the Zaisan Nor, the great lake which forms the headwaters for the Irtysh River. Here Kazu paused for a drink, and to rinse his burns with fresh water. Then we were away again, this time due west over more mountain tops, avoiding the inhabited lowlands. At three-thirty the hills dropped away and there appeared ahead the infinite green carpet of the Siberian forest. Kazu stopped again at another lake, which Baker guessed might be Dengiz. At four-thirty we crossed a wide river which we could not identify, and then at last commenced to climb into the foothills of the southern Urals. Just in time Baker discovered that Kazu's course was taking him straight toward the industrial city of Magnetogorsk. We veered north again into the higher mountains and then turned east to the forests. We were sure now that Kazu must be delirious, but after a while he stopped at the edge of a lake. "How far are we from Moscow?" he asked. "Twelve hundred miles, more or less," said Baker. "You can make it by nine, maybe ten, tonight." Kazu shook his head. "No. Tonight I must rest, gather strength. We start two AM, arrive Kremlin at sunrise. We catch them same time they catch me. No warning whatever." Kazu lay down on the swampy lake bottom while we huddled on the floor of the box, courting sleep which never came. At one o'clock we at last gave it up, and Baker fired his pistol until Kazu stirred. While he was awakening we listened to the radio. Things had calmed down quite a bit, and as we pieced the various broadcasts together, an amazing realization came over us. Everyone believed that Kazu was dead! Evidently no word of our trip across all of central Asia had been received! Search planes, both Soviet and Chinese, were combing the eastern Gobi for the body. * * * * * Other news included a war declaration by China upon the Soviet Union, and the announcement that the Russian Politbureau had scheduled a meeting in the Kremlin to consider the emergency. We passed all of this on to Kazu, whose grim face relaxed for the first time in a fleeting grin. "Good reporters. Know what are most savory items. Now guide me well, and away from towns until we reach it."