maximal risk-potential. The equations and curves prepared in advance at the direction of Leonard's masters, which seemed to have taken into account a meteorological spectrum ranging from the existing bright sunshine to unforeseen solar eclipse, gave the probability of unauthorized penetration of the air-space above Exercise Nabob as approximately two centicents, or 0.02 of 1 per cent. These two chances in ten thousand were being taken care of by a system of coastal watch and patrol which Leonard did not see fit to go into at the present time.
By the end of his exposition three more officers had approached. They were Major Venables and two taciturn captains called O'Neill and Isaacs who had arrived at the unit two days previously. The pair had spent most of the intervening period in the Exercise area accompanied by a large working-party.
'Are you happy, Leonard?' asked Venables. 'I use the ridiculous but serviceable locution. Your emotional welfare is no concern of mine.'
'I understand, sir. Yes, my preparations are complete. I suggest you conduct your preliminaries now and go ahead in your own time with final briefing.'
'I can find no objection to that.'
'How long will you need?'
Venables looked at O'Neill, who said, 'Fifteen minutes should do it.'
'See to it, then,' said Venables.
O'Neill and his companion moved off towards the stores vehicle.
'Would anybody mind if I watched this part, Brian?' asked Hunter.
Leonard hesitated. 'No,' he said finally. 'Mere acquaintance with externals isn't inappropriate for an officer of your Security rating… That's if you approve, sir.'
'Who, I?' Venables seemed astonished. 'I have no grounds for disapproval. Hunter may do as he pleases, short of inconveniencing me.'
'Okay, then, Max. See you later.'
The two captains had already begun their preliminaries when Hunter reached them. A party under a sergeant was carrying the boxes from their stack by the lorry over to a small but substantial earth and concrete bunker built during the past couple of days. It lay just short of the crest of a minor slope. From it, Hunter found he had an unimpeded view of half a mile or more across the floor of the valley. He caught a wink of metal up near the skyline as somebody in the defense detachment shifted his position. From near at hand he heard a fluctuating roar and a grinding of tracks from the small obsolete-looking tank that had come from a nearby armored training unit to join the convoy earlier that morning, incidentally imposing a twenty-minute delay in starting. Now the tank began to move slowly away round the inner edge of the depression.
With a certain amount of ceremony, the locking bolts on one of the boxes were pulled aside and the lid raised. Inside, resting between padded clips, lay an object roughly resembling an elongated golf-bag in webbing with brass studs. At this point Isaacs stepped forward, opened this container and drew out a rifle with an unusually extended barrel, a conical projection at the muzzle, a small bipod forward of the point of balance and a drum-type magazine to the right of the breech. He laid the weapon down on one of several piles of sacking arranged along the parapet of the bunker. Meanwhile another box had been opened under the direction of O'Neill, and within a couple of minutes five rifles of the type described were lying on the parapet.
'Ammunition,' said O'Neill sharply.
Isaacs moved to a metal box with a double stripe of red and yellow round it. He tore off the Ministry of Defence seal on its fastening and opened it, revealing a row of elongated cartridges with red-painted cases. Inside the lid was printed in red, Danger- Atomics-Arm by pressing base and giving half-turn to right-Not to be distributed except on the orders of an officer. While O'Neill watched, Isaacs took five rounds out of the box and carefully laid one down beside each of the rifles.
Just then Hunter caught sight of Churchill standing with a couple of other officers by the line of vehicles. He walked over and Churchill came forward to meet him.
'Quite a show they've evidently got lined up for us,' said Churchill. His eyes were half closed, as if the sunlight were too strong for them.
'I'm surprised they haven't brought Willie Ayscue along to bless the proceedings. Are you actually going to fire one of those things?'
'I may and I may not. We're going to sort of draw lots for it.'
'Why isn't everybody taking a turn?'
'I don't know. It could easily be a benign growth, not cancer at all. I hope it is. I wish I hadn't let her talk me out of being with her this morning. I should have insisted.' Churchill spoke flatly.
'Why did she talk you out of it?'
'I don't know. I think it's just part of the way everybody's tacitly agreed to behave as if there's nothing much at stake. But I don't know.'
'I see. When will you hear what they've found?'
'Any moment now. Lucy's going to telephone to the Command Post and they'll get on to Brian over the radio link. He set up the whole thing.'
'I see. I hope-'
'Assemble for briefing, please,' said Venables's amplified voice on a loud-hailer. 'All S1 officers to the firing-point for briefing.'
'That's me,' said Churchill. 'Max, if the message comes through while I'm down there would you take it? I've arranged it with Brian. They'll say they're calling Blacksmith, which is my code-name, and then they'll just say ‘Good news' or ‘Bad news.' '
'I'll do that, of course.'
'Thanks. I'd like you to be the one to tell me. But of course it might not come until they've finished
