"I'm not staying. Minya, it's both elevators and at least one man, they're falling from thirty klomters up, and we don't know just where they'll hit. I've got to warn the children in the school complex." He pointed a finger at the tip of her nose. "Stay here!" And he sprinted for the tunnel, wobbling chest heaving.

If something happens, the Grad had said. Something was happening all right, but what? Would Dloris know?

Minya guessed where the supervisor would be. She moved down the line of huts and entered the last one as Dloris came through with Haryet. 'We've been counting," Dloris said. "Gwen's missing. Have you seen her? Three meters tall and pale as a ghost, with a year-old guest?"

"Not lately. What's happening?"

"Get those clothes out and drying and then put the fire out. Do you have lines? Good. Keep them handy." The two supervisors moved on.

Minya turned to Jayan and Jinny. "Give us a hand. Jinny, we're lucky you were around. We're all together now. Do you know what's happening?"

"No. Karal looked scared stiff~"

"Is it war'?"

"Better stick to our task till we're sure," lisa said.

They pulled the clothing from the vat in a geid mass, manipulating it with poles~ Some water remained. They inverted the vat and moved back while the water-glob flowed sluggishly out onto the fire. Live steam didn't rise fast enough in London Tree's feeble tide. It tended to expand in an invisible globe, scalding hot.

Minys had never seen that fire go out. Dioris must be expecting something drastic!

They continued to work. They set the laundry in the press and

cranked two great wooden slabs together. Water squeezed out around the edges of the wad of clothing, then began to slide downward.

Something smashed through foliage, somewhere nearby.

They from Then Minya plunged into the branchiets with Jmny and lisa behind. They made their way toward the sound. Minya angled above where she thought it had stopped.

There, a trail of broken branchlets. She followed it down to the broken and twisted rempins of what had been a Navy officer. The corpse wore a sword, scabbarded, and a quiver that was still full, though the bow was missing.

"Now it's war," Minya said.

"We'll have to kill the supervisors," lisa said.

Minya jumped. "What?" It was as if a stone had spoken. "Never mind, you're right. I thought you were . . . I thought you'd given up."

lisa only shook her head.

West takes you in. In takes you easL At first the Grad held the bow window pointed straight down. They dropped smoothly.. . faster

he swung the cairn to point west and fired aft jets to correct as it drifted away from the trunk.

His passengers were rigid with terror, save for Lawn, who was rigid with fury.

They still had a passenger on the hull.