"There are more villages," he said.
"We'll never find him."
"Possibly," Joe mused, the smile creeping over his face again.
"A wild goose chase. A fool's errand."
"We'd better get started," Joe said simply.
I got to my feet and we started the march again. Joe was still fresh, a
brilliant contrast to me, weary and dejected. Somehow, I had the same
feeling I'd had a long time ago on my sixteenth birthday. One of my
friends had taken me all over the city, finally dropping me off at my
own house where the whole gang was gathered for a surprise party. Joe
reminded me of that friend.
"There's a village ahead," he said, and the grin on his face was large
now, his eyes shining.
* * * * *
Something was missing here. Natives. There were no natives rushing out
to greet us. No cries of "Cigarettes? Cigarettes?" I caught up with Joe.
"What's the story?" I whispered.
He shrugged knowingly and continued walking.
And then I saw the ship, nose pointing into space, catching the rays of
the sun like a great silver bullet.
"What...?" I started.
"It's all right," Joe said, smiling.
The ship looked vaguely familiar. I noticed the crest of Space II near
the nose, and a lot of things became clear then. I also saw Walsh
standing near one of the huts, a stun gun in his hand.
"Hello, Major," he called, almost cheerfully. The gun didn't look
cheerful, though. It was pointed at my head.
"Fancy meeting you here, Colonel," I said, trying to match his
joviality. Somehow it didn't quite come off.
Joe was walking beside me, waving at the colonel, beaming all over with
happiness.
"I see you found your man," Walsh said.
I turned rapidly. Joe nodded and kept grinning, a grin that told me he
was getting a big kick out of all this. Like a kid playing a game.