“I hoped you would say something, anything, Floss-hair. In fact, I never thought that you would say nothing. But then, you are a very sleepy little thing, aren’t you, and have been through a lot today, and you don’t really understand being wanted. I am sure you have decided, there is no more to be said. Yes, sleep if you can. We’ll be away before the first cock shocks the town.”

Away!

I woke as I was being lifted into the chariot. The air was outdoors air again, that was the first thing I noticed, chilly with that wind which skirls and fleers before the dawn, smelling of sea and magnolias—and birds. There was the busy sound of a large body of men and birds being as silent as possible without getting fussy over it.

I was wrapped in my cloak again. As I was handed into the chariot the Diary banged and half lurched out of my pocket.

I was already in the chariot and, momentarily, fully awake. Zerd had discovered this book! I sprang to intercept him with an anguished cry. He turned it over, amused, looked at the cover, said, “Well, well, No. 8. High Quality Paper Account-Book, eh?”

He tucked it back in my pocket.

“Where are we all going?” We were swinging into motion. Oh, familiarity; the sounds of men and birds on the march. We passed the dark gardens on one side, the white steps on the other, and on each step a Southern sentry lay dead.

“You have declared war by doing that.”

“It was time.”

Presently we were joined by other regiments. We must be complete now, a vast army, though small by Southern standards.

“We’ve been ready organized for some time now.”

“This road isn’t taking us through the Town. Are we going 393

to follow the river? Surely they’ll find it easy to follow us?”

“It’s quicker through the hills. It’ll do them no good to follow us—they have a reasonably large force here but they won’t want to have to face us in the hills, with us above them. I’m making towards the coast—they’ll try to head me off and get me between here and the Capital where they’ve got the rest of their force. Well, they have a navy on the beaches but who knows, perhaps we can deal with that if we don’t allow ourselves to be trapped between navy and army. Are you cold?”

“It is chilly …”