Several score of Wor's mutant Puva soldiers had been killed in running battles with Rebel bands, but Wor was not disturbed. He had ample fighting men at his disposal and the troops had been indoctrinated to believe that if killed in battle they went straight to Sasso. Margaret patterned her attitude upon his.
Eldon felt a surge of admiration for the scattered remnants of the Forest People who still fought against such overwhelming odds, even though their sullenly suspicious minds had condemned Krasna's unborn child—her child and his—to death. He could not blame them too much for being overcautious.
One night he overheard the critical conversation which meant this forced inaction would soon end.
Wor was singing as he entered Margaret's rooms, and despite the mutation which had increased his intelligence his savage Puva ancestry betrayed itself in the roaring vocal antics he considered music.
Margaret asked a sharp question.
"The next Observance of Sasso," Wor announced ponderously, "will be The Night!"
Eldon heard Margaret gasp. "Are you sure?"
"As sure as anyone can be. Those Rebels had the effrontery to gather again, to actually plan an attack against our Fortress. But we found their meeting place. It was a most effective raid."
Eldon felt a stab of fear, not for himself but for Krasna. Killed? Captured? Escaped?
"The attack is broken up?" Margaret asked.