briefing. I'll go over to Brian's car as soon as they have. See you.'
Churchill went off after his companions. Colonel White got out of his car, where he had been sitting reading what looked like some learned journal ever since arriving at the assembly point, and limped off briskly in the same direction. Ross-Donaldson appeared and joined him. Hunter returned to where he had left Leonard, who at that moment ran the few yards to his car, got in and slammed the door. The window was open, however, and Hunter arrived in time to hear him say excitedly,
'Padlock here. Over.'
'Man in civilian clothes sighted approaching southeast corner,' said a voice over the loud-speaker. 'I've got the glasses on him but I can't tell whether it's Optimus or not. Could be. He's coming slow and cautious, trying to keep concealed as much as possible. No doubt about it, he's seen us and reckons we haven't seen him. Over.'
'You keep it that way,' said Leonard, picking up a mapcase and a chinagraph pencil. 'Give map- reference of his present location and estimate his general direction. Over.'
Letters and figures followed. Leonard marked a cross in red on the talc over his map and an arrow pointing northwest. Then he studied the map for a moment and said,
'He seems to be making for that re-entrant or gully that runs into the ridge about eighty yards northeast of you. Do you agree? Over.'
'Could be, sir. Yes, there's fairish cover for him most of the way there and the gully itself's pretty well wooded. Yes, he's moving that way now. Oh, and I'm pretty sure it is Optimus. Over.'
'Good, splendid. Right, sergeant-major. Instruct your men on both sides of the gully to move away from it when the man approaches. Gradually, mind. Nothing obvious. Check back to me when you've done that. Over.'
'Roger, Padlock. Out.'
Leonard looked up, sweat glittering among the thin hair on the top of his head. 'Looks as if we've got him,' he said.
'Optimus equals Best.' Hunter too seemed excited. 'What a scholar you are, Brian. How do your fellows know what he looks like? Did you send them all on a tour of the hospital?'
'I had him photographed. Without his knowing it, of course.'
'Marvelous. And what's in store for him now?'
'When he's through the cordon I shall let him find his way along here. The defense detachments have orders to show themselves as much as possible. Then, as soon as I find out what route he's taking, I'll get them to withdraw laterally, like the cordon just now, and presumably he'll arrive somewhere up there'-Leonard gestured at the skyline with his head-'and start taking photographs.'
'And then you grab him.'
'No, we want him to pass on the stuff so that we can grab the people on his line of communication as well. I'm putting him under continuous surveillance. He'll be allowed to leave the area in the same way as he entered it. With one of my men in close attendance.'
Hunter shook his head admiringly. 'Very neat. And frightfully energetic. All this show just put on for Best's benefit.'
'It's not just for his benefit at all,' said Leonard emphatically. 'I don't know what gave you that idea. It's a vitally important piece of training.'
'Oh, of course. I was really only thinking what an efficient spy-trap it is.'
'Actually,' and here Leonard's voice grew as confidential as it ever did, 'it isn't really training in the strict sense. More of a demonstration. These fellows all know their business backwards. But it's felt that seeing this thing in action will be psychologically beneficial. It'll make them believe in it, give them confidence, stop them thinking exclusively in terms of theory.'
'Good idea.'
The loudspeaker came to life. 'Hallo, Padlock. Are you receiving me? Over.'
'Padlock listening. Over.'
'Civilian now approaching mouth of gully. Definitely identifiable as Optimus. Men on both sides of gully moving off as ordered. Over.'
Hunter did not wait to hear Leonard's reply. He strolled over towards the bunker, where the briefing was evidently about to begin. His expression was puzzled.
'This is Captain O'Neill,' said Venables without preamble. 'You may have met him. He will tell you what it is necessary for you to know about this device.'
With that, Venables sat down on the grass. O'Neill came forward holding one of the rifles by the stock.
'This, gentlemen, is the NHW-17,' he said. 'Now I know you're all fully trained in the tactical handling of nuclear hand-weapons, their mode of operation, special problems of supply and so on. But you'll forgive me if I just run over a few salient points. The first thing to remember is that this is an ordinary rifle that uses extraordinary ammunition, and that even the ammunition's ordinary enough until it arrives at its target. You'll see that it resembles an ordinary rather old-fashioned Service rifle with a few luxuries thrown in: bipod for greater steadiness, lengthened barrel for increased accuracy, flash eliminator for concealment. Ordinary magazine and bolt action.' He demonstrated this. 'You'll get a chance to practice that later on, using dummy rounds. Now as to the serious ammunition, the punch is.085 T, which as you know is jargon for eighty-five thousandths of a metric ton of TNT, or simply eighty-five kilograms. Nothing very much, you may say. Certainly it's a mere teaspoonful compared with what some of the NTWs can deliver. The purpose of this weapon, though, involves not the size of the punch but the rapidity and selectivity with which it can be delivered. A platoon equipped with the NHW-17 combines the mobility and ground-covering capacity of an infantryman with the firepower of something like three field batteries of artillery. Ideal for a war of movement over difficult terrain.
