"True!" was all that Lloyd said and they fell asleep.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The next day came early. The two men woke up in the hour before dawn and after having their fill of good food for breakfast, they readied themselves for their long trip to Pomperaque.
They made up a list for the rations supervisor to fill for them before they were to leave Alugean. The list was common to them both and they were comprised of field hiking packs full of dried meats, fruits and vegetables, two four-litre water sacks and two electric lights.
When Lloyd and Boyce finished giving Burman and the library steward the final details of how and when they would be notified about their own advance on Pomperaque, they left the city, hailed with luck from each worker within.
It was an unusually hot day and it wasn't yet nine o'clock in the morning.
Not far from Alugean, they took their first break by a stream and sucked back a few healthy gulps of water from their sacks.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the air felt thick to breathe as they slowly advanced south.
They took to walking in the shade of the trees that were all around them on their path, and only after Boyce noticed a dragonfly fanning itself on a boulder, were both of the men aware that there was a strange lack of insect life.
The men didn't speak. Boyce just pointed to the big beautifully coloured insect and Lloyd knew what was on his mind.