"What is it?" "What about Daimya?" "What about her?" "Where will she be during--this attack?" "At home, I expect," said Carroll. "Where she belongs." Wolf toyed for a moment with the map that lay before him. "Joseph," he said. "What _will_ happen to the village?" "You don't know?" asked Carroll in surprise. "No," Wolf admitted. "I have never stayed behind." Carroll laughed bitterly. "One of two things," he said. "They will either demolish it from the air, including the populace, or they will put everyone in one of the forced labor camps." The farmer made a small gesture of resignation. "I didn't know," Wolf said, almost under his breath. _Can I be responsible for that?_ "They don't like Colonists cooperating with the revolutionaries," Carroll continued. "Did you expect they exempted us all from our taxes as a reward?" "No," Wolf said. "But I didn't know it was so--complete." "They are thorough," the old man shrugged. "Any village where an incident occurs is made an example. Before long, you people will not find much welcome in the Colonies." "I suppose not," Wolf mused. "Perhaps by then--" "You really believe you're going to succeed in overthrowing the Federation, don't you?" "I must," said Wolf. "Without that, all this--" he gestured to the map before him, traced with arrows, notations, ideas, "--is meaningless slaughter." "So it seems," Carroll said flatly. "Joseph," said Wolf suddenly. "With luck, there will be a ship waiting for me in the mountains when I've--finished here." "That's your good fortune," Carroll said grimly. "Will you come with me?" "And join the revolutionaries?" "You--and Daimya." Carroll considered it slowly. "No," he said finally. "Not I. I have gotten my people into this, I must stay with them. All were against it when you first contacted us. All but me. It is my fault. I have to stay with them." Wolf felt a sudden surge of affection for the old man. Reluctant he might be, but he knew what he was doing and he knew the consequences and was willing to accept them. "And Daimya?" "That is a different matter," said Carroll. "It is not right that she should suffer for her father's folly." _Or that a father should suffer for his son's folly_, thought Wolf. But he said nothing. "You would take her?" Carroll asked. "If I am--able," said Wolf. "All right," said the old man. "I will see to it. Better she should be alive than dead. That is all that matters." * * * * * Wolfs final plan was simple. He had not enough men to count on a direct attack. The major work would be performed by the dependable five, of which Carroll assured him. The others would be used to create a diversion to cover the actual assault.