"The article in that magazine said something about a huge forest on the eastern frontier. That's here. We could wander into a forest and stay there until we'd planned all we wanted to do. Even the people who had seen us would forget about us. What we have to do is to make people feel as if we were nothing—nothing."
They were in the very midst of it, crowded together, leaning over, stretching necks and breathing quickly with excitement, when Marco lifted his head. Some mysterious impulse made him do it in spite of himself.
"There's my father!" he said.
The chalk dropped, everything dropped, even Samavia. The Rat was up and on his crutches as if some magic force had swung him there. How he gave the command, or if he gave it at all, not even he himself knew. But the Squad stood at salute.
Loristan was standing at the opening of the archway as Marco had stood that first day. He raised his right hand in return salute and came forward.
"I was passing the end of the street and remembered the Barracks was here," he explained. "I thought I should like to look at your men, Captain."
He smiled, but it was not a smile which made his words really a joke. He looked down at the chalk map drawn on the flagstones.
"You know that map well," he said. "Even I can see that it is Samavia. What is the Secret Party doing?"
"The messengers are trying to find a way in," answered Marco.
"We can get in there," said The Rat, pointing with a crutch. "There's a forest where we could hide and find out things."