Ali shook his head stubbornly. “No, sir. I tell you truly just what he say. He and the other bad men bury mines all over, even here among our tents and huts.
Maybe one minute from now someone walks on one. Then boom!” The interpreter flung his hands wide, his eyes blazing.
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146 TRIPHIBIAN ATOMICAR
“They didn’t have time to mine the whole camp!” Hank argued.
“How do we know?” spoke up Les Nixon, a young geologist. “They could have been digging away like moles for a couple of hours before we got wise to “em!”
The prisoner chuckled, evidently enjoying the Americans’ distress. This was too much for one crewman.
“I’ll wipe off that grin, you sneaking rat!” he groxvled. Before Tom could stop him, he lashed out a fast uppercut that knocked the captive head over heels.
“Cut it out!” Tom snapped, grabbing the crewman’s arm and jerking him away from the cowering prisoner. “That’s not going to help any!”
“Then tell us what is!” someone else retorted. “I sure don’t want to be the guy who steps on the first of those mines!”
“First, second, what does it matter?” put in a mechanic named Deever. “Even one’s too doggone many for comfort if we don’t know where it’s planted!”
Deever’s words were backed up with a murmur of agreement. Seeing the Americans’ worried reactions, the hired workmen began to chatter, and pleaded loudly to be paid off at once.
“Quiet! Everyone!” Tom shouted. Turning to
A TERRIFIED CAMP 147
Ali, he said, “Tell them they have nothing to worry about. I’ll check over the whole camp myself and clear out every single mine-if there really are any. In the meantime, warn them to stay right where they are!”
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