“What are you going to do?”

“Don’t lose time. Do as I say. It is for the good of all.”

I reached for the tin-foil that I kept behind a book, wondering what his words meant. When I had dressed him he said:

“You wish me well?”

“With all my heart.”

“Then obey me, and have faith in me. Carry me outside the tent, walk twenty-five steps toward the north, then put me on the ground and leave me.”

“Toward the north? Be careful—that way lies the mine they intend to explode under us.”

“Yes; be quiet—there isn’t a moment to lose.”