Narakan Rifles, About Face! Page 4

Norton didn't want us to catch those damn cats.Maybe he figured he owed them that much."

  O'Mara shielded his eyes as he said, "Beta's setting. It'll be nightin a couple of hours and we can walk around without this blastedradiation armor for a while."

  "Yeah, and we can start looking for a full scale night attack as soonas good old Alpha hides his hoary head."

  "If you see O'Shaughnessy, tell him I want to see him, will you? I'mgoing to stop at the schoolhouse for a few minutes."

  Surprise spread across Bill's freckled face, "Not the school teacher?Not you! Buddy, you've been in Dust Bin too long. You've been onNaraka too long. You'll be attending services at the Chapel next."

  Terrence muttered a few old Anglo-Saxon words under his breath andlimped off in the direction of the school building.

  * * * * *

  The Reverend Ames Goodman was the smallest Narakan that Terrence hadever seen. The Johnathian missionary from Little Texas was somewhatunder two hundred and fifty pounds which was slight for a Greenback.He also spoke the best English except for some of the big shots in NewChicago. Ordinarily he was a composite of superstitious reverence andnatural dignity which Terrence had always found admirable. Today,however, he couldn't have appeared more ludicrous if he had tried. Hewas dressed for a visit to the Residency in a white duck suit whichwas too small and out of which he bulged in a number of surprisingplaces.

  He and Joan Allen were talking half in English and half in Narakan asthe lieutenant entered. The minister had a painfully surprised look onhis round green face.

  "I hope we didn't bust up your school too much, Miss Allen."

  "If you are quite finished with your shooting and cursing, LieutenantO'Mara, perhaps you have time to explain to Rev. Goodman and me whatthis talk about evacuation means."

  As she spoke, she brushed stray strands of black hair up under herradiation helmet. For the first time in the six months that she hadbeen in charge of the orphan school in Dust Bin, Terrence decided thatmaybe she was pretty after all. He wasn't sure whether it was the highcolor which excitement lent to her usually pale face or if BillFielding was right in saying he had been on Naraka too long, but JoanAllen was beginning to look good to him. At the moment the feelingwasn't at all mutual.

  "Is it true that the Defense Force is pulling out and leaving the restof us to the Rumi?"

  Terrence took off his helmet and let the rapidly cooling air strikehis head. "Not exactly, teacher," he said, "The Fifth is pulling outbut so are all the Terrans in Dust Bin. Everyone's being ordered backto Little Texas. That's why the _Sun Maid_ is standing by."

  "All the Terrans, Lieutenant? What about the people here who depend onus? What about my children?"

  O'Mara somehow couldn't quite look either of them in the face. Hemuttered something about having to get back to his command post andstarted out the door. Joan called after him as she noticed his limp,"Lieutenant, I'm sorry, I didn't know you have been wounded."

  "Oh, it's nothing ... nothing," he said, hurrying away, his neckreddening from something more than the attention of Beta Centauri. Howin the name of Naraka's sixty devils could you tell a woman that oneof your own non-coms had stepped on your foot and nearly broken yourinstep?

  The battalion straggled into Dust Bin during the night. It hadn'texactly fought its way back from the river but had had enoughcasualties to make the men nervous and jumpy without tempering them atall. One of the casualties had been Lt. Colonel Upton. Now MajorChapelle was in command. The men of the battalion were nervous butChapelle was riding on the thin edge of panic. He ordered everyone onboard the _Sun Maid_ at once and then countermanded the order andformed a defense perimeter around the town. He threw out patrols whichwere unable to contact any Rumi on the Dust Bin side of the river.

  The next morning Terrence was summoned to Government House for anofficers' conference. As he hurried along its single street, Dust Binwas in a state of confused and helpless excitement. The three or fourhundred Narakans who made up its population were all in the street orsquare. Many of them were carrying their belongings on their shouldersand looked as if they were only waiting for an order of some kind tosend them scurrying off toward the Suzi swamps.

  As O'Mara reached the veranda of the Residency, Rev. Goodman wasspeaking with Joan Allen by his side. His words were aimed atChapelle, Norton and a large gray-eyed man whom Terrence recognized asthe Captain of the _Sun Maid_.

  "When you came, you earthmen in your great ships, the Narakan was ahunted creature on his own planet and had been back as far as he couldremember. You drove off the Rumi and took parts of the planet for yourown use but you did not hunt the Narakan. You brought him out of hisswamps and taught him much; to wear clothes, to till the ground andmany other things. You even gave him your religion. But now the Rumihave returned and you say you are not strong enough to hold all theplanet."

  * * * * *

  Major Chapelle was impatient, "That's right, Reverend, there's toomany of them. The garrison just isn't big enough to hold everythingand it's too far back to Earth for us to expect any reinforcements fora year or even longer."

  Norton took over. "You're an educated ... ah ... man, Goodman. You seewhat the problem is. We can't hold everything so we've got to cut ourlosses. All of the most important resources and towns are in theLittle Texas area and so we're pulling back into there."

  "I see. Yes, I understand. The people of Dust Bin are part of thelosses that must be cut."

  "Now, now. Don't put it that way, Reverend. The natives can alwaystake refuge in the swamps, you know."

  "Yes. I suppose it must be so. Back to Little Texas for the Terransand back to the swamps for the Narakans. Back to living naked in themud, back to fishing for our food and back to thinking only of thenext meal."

  "It really isn't that bad," Chapelle said. "As soon as the situationadjusts itself, the Terran forces will be coming back. Then you cancome out of your hiding places and resume your regular life again."

  "Yes. And in the meantime our only problem will be to stay out of theway of the Rumi."

  "I don't believe that they will go out of their way to harm you. It'sthe Terrans they want to drive out."

  Suddenly the Reverend Goodman was shaking his fist in the Major'sface, forgetting in his excitement both his manners and his correctEnglish. "Not hurt! Not hurt, Mr. General? No, they not hurt, theyjust eat! They favorite food is Naraka steak."

  "Now, now, calm yourself," Norton put a hand on Goodman's shoulder."There's plenty of room in the _Sun Maid_ for you and the rest of yourpeople will be safe enough in the swamps."

  "What about my children?" demanded Joan Allen.

  "Children, Miss Allen? I don't know.... Oh, yes, you mean the poly ...the children. Why, I assume they will go with their parents."

  Joan placed a small fist firmly on each of her slim hips. "Major, allthe children in the mission school are orphans. They have no parents.None of them have ever lived in the swamps."

  "Ah yes. But I hardly see what we can do about it, Miss Allen."

  "Well, Major, I'm going to tell you what I'm going to do about it.Unless those kids are loaded on the _Sun Maid_ in place of some ofthis junk," she waved a hand at the piles of luggage which belonged toMrs. Wilson, "I'm going to stay with my charges and leave you with theproblem of explaining to the Mission Board and to the Bishop of NewChicago just why you left me behind."

  At the mention of the extremely influential Johnathian Bishop theMajor looked more worried than ever. After a short conference withNorton, he turned to Joan.

  "Very well, Miss Allen. The children will go in the airship. I'm surethat Mrs. Wilson will be only too glad to leave some of her clothes tomake room for them."

  "Thank you, Major." Joan said, making no attempt to gloat over hervictory.

  "Now, Captain, I understand that most of the military stores have beendestroyed and that the men are ready for embarkation," Chapelle wenton hurriedly, addressing himself to the capt
ain of the _Sun Maid_. "Wewill have about three hundred and twenty, no ... about three hundredand thirty passengers for you."

  The captain shook his head doubtfully, "It's a big load. I hope we canmake it without any trouble."

  "Well, then," Chapelle went on, "We'll go aboard during the day afterwe complete the destruction of the stores and facilities. The nativetroops under Lieutenant O'Shaughnessy will cover our embarkation andthen convoy the civilians as far as the Suzi swamps. Afterwards theywill march overland to Fort Craven on the Little Texas border."

  Terrence