Homer Crawford spun on him and now the force they all knew was
emanating from him. He laughed his scorn. "A month ago we were half a
dozen fugitives. Now we're an army besieging a city. And you say we've
had it? Listen, Kenny, if we have to we'll go back to being half a
dozen fugitives again--those of us that are left. But the dream goes
on! However, we're not going to have to. We're too near victory in
this stage of the operation to sit down on the job because of a
threatened reverse. Now then, let's kick it around. Jimmy! Dave!
Kenny! Ostrander!"
Fredric Ostrander raised his eyebrows only slightly at being included
in their number.
* * * * *
Bey, for once, was seemingly too exhausted to be brought to new
enthusiasm. He tossed a detail map of Tamanrasset to the table. "And
I'd just worked out a bang-up scheme for infiltrating into town,
joining up with our adherents there, and seizing it while most of
Ibrahim's men were out in the desert, trying to capture our nearer
water holes."