“Oh—those soldiers who went up the hill over there—” Dick muttered. “They’re part of the ring around the town.”
“Yes, I heard them say men must circle up behind the villa, and then walk down so closely that not a person could slip through the ring. They’ll be here any minute. We cannot stay here.”
“No, come on down toward the villa,” Dick said. “We can talk as we go. You have the uniform there?”
“Yes, shall I try to put it back now so we won’t be caught with it?”
“No, I’ll take it,” Dick said. “I may be able to get away with it yet. What about the power plant?”
“The plan succeeded,” Tomaso said. “The dynamo is wrecked, the water-gates shut, and specialists have been summoned from the north. But I hear they cannot arrive with new parts for at least three days.”
“Good,” Dick said.
“Not good,” Tomaso said. “Of what use is all this if now you are to be caught?”
They were approaching the wing of the villa now, and hid in its shadow.
“I may not be caught,” Dick said. “And even if I am, the others will carry through somehow. Has the guard been increased at the dam?”