"Reds!" exclaimed von Rath. "You hear, Duane? Then our Fuehrer was right in warning the world against the menace of Bolshevik Russia! Small wonder man's civilization toppled, if even your nation succumbed to—"
Chuck Lafferty made a rude noise with his lips.
"Guess again, 'kraut," he chuckled. "These Reds was different. They did their scrapping with bats and baseballs, and their boss was a 'Dictator' named McKechnie. Cincinnati, eh? Boy, many's the time I've parked my tootsies in a bed in the Netherland Plaza.[4] Steve, remember the night we—"
But his words had struck a responsive chord. A gasp escaped the Mother Maatha.
"Nedlunplaza! Yes, that is it! That is the name of the Daans' fortress in Sinnaty!"
Steve Duane grunted satisfaction.
"In that case," he said, "call the room-clerk and make reservations. We're on our way to Cincy!"
Two days later, they were not merely on their way to the one-time Queen City of the Ohio but almost there.
There were eight in their party. Duane and Lafferty and von Rath—whom, despite their pledge of mutual aid, Steve preferred to keep under surveillance—headed the group. The warrior captain, Jain, commanded a trio of fighting-women who had been assigned to guide and guard them on their adventure. Eighth member of the expedition was the priestess Beth. Over Steve's protest she had insisted on coming.