Magnificent acting! No wonder they had sent her to the Nevada station. "We're heading for the coast," he explained.
"The sedan wouldn't go last night; it won't now, either."
"We'll push the car back to the highway. The downgrade is steep enough to make the machine run without power. If that doesn't work, we can always walk."
"It'll be warmer if we wait until daylight."
"And the natives would be here by that time, too, wouldn't they? The glare of the thermal explosion was visible for miles."
"I didn't sleep at all last night, Captain. I don't have the energy to—"
With the dispersal ray, he pushed her along the hall toward the room where she and Briggan had slept in front of the pot-bellied stove. Naturally she would try to keep him there, he thought; he didn't need much more proof of her disloyalty.
Flames from the burning wall lit the room. As they entered, Tynia screamed and fell back against Tchassen.
"The Sergeant's gone!" she gasped.
"Along with the weapons you left in here."