The last of the scouts returned frustrated. All the trails they had followed had simply vanished after several kilometers. The trails led no one direction other than vaguely north.

The Colonel looked at the map and thought about one day's walk and then travel by machine. So outside the circle of that blindfolded walk they didn't have to bother to cover their trail. Either Rivers didn't think they could find a rarely used trail in such a large area, or there was enough traffic in the ...