Ardmore nodded. “I see your point. You feel that we should concentrate on the garrisoned towns and cities and ignore the rest. But look, Jeff, we mustn’t underestimate the enemy. If the Great God Mota shows up nowhere but in the garrisoned spots it’s going to look mighty funny to some intelligence officer among the PanAsians when he gets to fiddling with the statistics of the occupied country. I think we’ve got to show up elsewhere and. anywhere.”
“And I respectfully suggest that we can’t, sir. We haven’t men enough to pull it off. We’ll have trouble enough recruiting and training enough men to set up a temple in each of the garrisoned cities.”
Ardmore chewed a thumbnail and looked frustrated. “You’re probably right. Well, confound it, we won’t get anywhere at all if we sit here worrying about the difficulties. I said we’d have to play by ear and that’s what we’ll do. The first job is to get a headquarters set up in Denver. Jeff, what are you going to need?”
Thomas frowned. “I don’t know. Money, I suppose.”
“No trouble about that,” said Wilkie. “How much? I can make you half a ton of gold as easily as half a pound.”
“I don’t think I can carry more than about fifty pounds.”
“I don’t think he can spend bullion very easily,” Ardmore commented. “It should be in coin.”
“I can use bullion,” Thomas insisted. “All I have to do is to take it to the Imperial bank. Panning gold is encouraged; our gracious masters charge one hell of a stiff seigniorage.”
Ardmore shook his head. “You’re missing the propaganda aspect. A priest in long robes and a flowing beard doesn’t whip out a check book and a fountain pen; it’s out of character. I don’t want you to have a bank account anyhow; it will give the enemy detailed records of just what you are doing. I want you to pay for things with beautiful, shiny golden coins, stacks of them. It will make a tremendous impression. Scheer, are you any good at counterfeiting?”
“I’ve never tried it, sir.”
“No time like the present. Every man needs an alternative profession.
Jeff, you didn’t have any chance to pick up an Imperial gold coin, did you? We need a model.”
“No, I didn’t. But I suppose I could get one, if I sent word out among the Us that I needed one.”
“I hate to wait. But you’ve got to have money to tackle Denver.”
“Does it have to be Imperial money?” asked Doctor Brooks.
“Eh?”
The biologist hauled a five dollar gold piece from his pocket. “Here’s a lucky piece I’ve carried since I was a kid. I guess this is a lucky time to let it go.”
“Hmm…How about it, Jeff? Can you pass American money?”
“Well, American paper money is no good, but gold coin — My guess is that those leeches probably won’t object, so long as it’s gold — at the bullion price, at least. I’m sure that Americans will take it.”
“We don’t care how much they discount it.” Ardmore took the coin and chucked it to Scheer. “How long will it take you to make forty or fifty pounds of those?”
The master sergeant studied it. “Not long if I pour them rather than stamp them. You want them all just alike, sir?”
“Why not?”
“Well, sir, there’s the matter of the date.”
“Oh! I get you. Well, that’s the only pattern we have; I guess we’ll just have to hope that they either won’t notice or won’t care.”
“If you can allow me just a little more time I think I could fix it, sir. I make about twenty or so with this as a pattern, then I’ll do a little hand work and put a different date on each one. That will give me twenty different patterns instead of one.”
“Scheer, you have the soul of an artist. Do it that way. While you are about it, you had better vary the scratches and wear marks on each.”
“I had thought of that, sir.”
Ardmore grinned. “This team is going to be a headache to His Imperial Nastiness yet. Well, how about it, Jeff? Any more points to settle before we adjourn the meeting?”