had never had any urge to be a hero. He had always picturedhimself retiring at a ripe old age as a Colonel or Brigadier andraising canal oranges on Mars, but suddenly the memory of the NarakanRifles rushing down the street with bugles blaring and flag wavingright into the Rumi line of fire rose before him. The thought ofO'Shaughnessy, even with his new lieutenant's commission, leading theblundering troops along the two hundred miles to Fort Craven was toomuch for him.
"I beg your pardon, Major," he heard himself saying, "But as theNarakan Training Officer, I think that I should remain in command ofthe unit in its overland march."
The Major was dumfounded. Norton looked as if he were sure the Narakanclimate had proven too much of a strain for the lieutenant.
"Lieutenant O'Mara, are you sure...." began Chapelle.
"Are you nuts, O'Mara? Do you know what you're asking for?" demandedNorton.
"Yes, sir. I feel that since Colonel Upton appointed me TrainingOfficer for the Narakan Rifles, it is my duty to stay with them untilI am relieved."
Chapelle's look of astonishment had changed to one of relief. It wouldbe far easier to explain the hurried abandonment of the Narakan Riflesto the native representatives at New Chicago if a Terran officer wereto remain with them.
"Well," he said, "I could, of course, relieve you of yourresponsibility but if you feel that...."
"I do, sir." Terrence said quickly lest he be tempted to back out.
IV
Later in the day as he sat in the shade of the command post'soverhanging roof with his back against a stack of sand-bags, he cursedhimself for sixteen kinds of an idiot as he watched the evacuationbegin. Beta was dropping low over the pink Maldo hills as the longline of earthmen filed up the gangway into the big airship.
"Hello," said a voice behind him. He turned to find Joan Allenstanding there clothed in radiation armor and holding a small canvasbag in one hand. "I thought ... I mean ... I came to say good-bye."
"Hello, yourself. I thought you were on board with the rest of them."He got up hastily.
"No. I got the kids on board but I wanted one more look at theschoolhouse before we shoved off."
Somehow he was holding onto her arm, "I guess it meant a lot to you,that schoolhouse," he said.
"Yes, it did. I ... I was afraid that I wouldn't get to see you whenyou get to New Chicago."
"There's no danger of that, Joanie. If and when I get there, I'll belooking for you ... that is ... if you want to see me."
"If you think you can stand an old maid school teacher, I'll belooking for you." She was very close to him now. "Why did you do it,Terrence? Why are you making the march with the Narakans? Fieldingsays your chances aren't very good."
"I'll thank Fielding to keep his big mouth shut! I don't really knowwhy, probably kind of an Earthman's Burden, noblesse oblige ... youknow ... something like the sort of thing Kipling used to writeabout."
"Hell," she said, surprising him with her vehemence, "you don'tbelieve that guy any more than I do. It was old when Kipling wrote itand it's even older now. I think that somewhere under that tough Irishskin of yours, there's a sentimental fool hiding."
She was still closer now with her hands pressed lightly against hischest and suddenly his arms went around her, he lifted her protectivevisor and forced his lips down hard on hers. All of her primness haddisappeared as she leaned against him, returning his kiss with aburning eagerness which a more experienced woman might havecontrolled.
There were tears running down his cheeks and he knew they weren't his.He released her slightly and looked down into her tear streaked face,wondering how it was possible for them to have been at the same postfor six months without really knowing each other.
"I guess I'm kind of crazy about you, teacher," he said.
He had lifted her off her feet and she clung there with her armsaround his neck. "Terrence, I can't leave you ... I...."
As Terrence bent over to kiss her again there was a loud cough andBill Fielding was standing there dressed in full battle armor. Hegrinned and said, "Much as I hate to break this up, I don't thinkChapelle is going to hold the _Sun Maid_ much longer."
Terrence set Joan gently on her feet and she turned and fled towardthe waiting ship. He watched until she was on board and then turned tostare at Bill. Still grinning broadly, Bill clapped him on theshoulder as he said, "I could never have faced those bartenders onDobi Street if I had gone back without you. We better get going,hadn't we? Sergeant Polasky's down with the men. He couldn't bear toleave his Bannings."
"Well, I'll be damned!" was all O'Mara could find to say as he watchedthe big airship lift itself in the fading light, circle and passthrough the smoke of Dust Bin for the last time.
* * * * *
Throwing their gear over their shoulders, the two officers crossed theparade ground to where the two hundred khaki clad figures of theNarakan Rifles stood waiting with Sergeant Polasky clucking slightlyas he fussed over his Bannings.
O'Shaughnessy was wearing his new lieutenant bars and a pith helmetand was carrying a large piece of wood in imitation of Norton'sswagger stick. Terrence took one look at him and at the two orderlieswho stood behind him holding his field kit. He strode toward himscowling, placed his fists on his hips and stood glaring up at theGreenback as he roared, "So! It's delusions of grandeur you've got, isit? Where are Hannigan and O'Toole and their patrols? Why aren't theyback?"
O'Shaughnessy stiffened to attention trying to pull in his greatstomach. "They are back, Mr. Lieutenant Sir.... I forgot. They hadnothing to report ... no contact."
Terrence looked him up and down, "If you foul up just once more ...I'm going to ... I'll split your gizzard, stuff it with To-To leavesand send you to the Rumi for their breakfast with my compliments!"
O'Shaughnessy shivered at the dire threat as O'Mara turned to Rev.Goodman who stood with his people clustered about him. "All right,Reverend, you can move out with your flock. I'll throw patrols out infront of you and bring up the rear with the rest of the Rifles. We'llsee you as far as the edge of the swamps."
In a long straggly line, the refugees started out with the nativepolice keeping order and Goodman marching at their head. The two drumsand the three bugles of the Narakan Rifles struck up a badly mangledversion of _Back to Donegal_, and the column followed on the heels ofthe civilians. Once or twice Terrence glanced back at the smoke andflame that had been Dust Bin before he turned his face forward acrossthe miles of grasslands to where the Suzi swamps lay.
Darkness had fallen but progress wasn't difficult until one of thosesudden, lashing storms for which Naraka was famous hurled itself uponthem, flattening the tall grass, raising swirls of dust and finallyturning the dust into thick, clinging mud.
As suddenly as it had come, the storm was gone. But by that time theywere in the swamp itself. Night in the Suzi swamps. Swamps composed ofa sticky, gray mud and heavy tangled undergrowth. The night was asblack as the day had been bright. The column which had left thecivilians at the edge of the swamp was pushing slowly forward. TheNarakans glided along on their bare, webbed feet and the Terranspushed along on snowshoe-like glides attached to their boots.
Bill Fielding, bareheaded with his helmet thrown back over hisshoulder, floundered along beside Terrence. "Did you ever see a placelike this? Did you ever see mud like this? Even the Irish bogscouldn't be this bad."
Terrence checked his map, shielding his flashlight carefully. "We'llbe out of the worst of this by tomorrow morning," he said.
"If we live until tomorrow morning," Fielding replied, "those Rumihave eyes like the blasted jungle cats they're descended from."
"I don't think we have much to worry about until we get out of theswamps. I doubt if their patrols would penetrate very deeply into thismess."
"How about the radio? Has Polasky been able to get through to FortCraven?" asked Fielding.
O'Mara shook his head, "no. You know what Beta's radiations do toradio reception this time of year. Even at night it takes a powerfu
ltransmitter to reach farther than twenty or thirty miles."
Later in the night, with a good ten miles of swamp country between himand the enemy, Terrence called a halt on a slightly raised spot ofalmost dry ground. The unwearied Greenbacks and the exhausted Terransdropped down in huddled groups. The patrols that had penetrated to theedge of the swamp came in to report that they had contacted no Rumiahead. Terrence munched a can of cold beans and fell over in anexhausted sleep to the sound of O'Shaughnessy placing sentries aboutthe camp.
* * * * *
The next day's