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Not a man of them but looked older and grimmer than their general, though there was nothing grim about their mood at the moment. In one word, they looked tough—not the desperate boy-toughness I'd seen in so many American veterans, but the unpretentious toughness of professionals. Near the back door we were halted by the pressure of the stream. Arslan stood flushed and laughing—shaking hands, slapping backs, waving over shoulders at faces beyond. In half a minute we were cut off from him by the swarm, and gradually forced backwards.

He was brimming with glee, glowing, disheveled, with heavy, drunken breath; and I swam in pure fury. He cocked his head at Jean, his eyes crinkling with laughter. “You should be proud of your son, madam. ” He faced me square and laid the flat of his left hand lightly on my chest. Involuntarily I twisted. “You, sir, you give me much pleasure. ” And the hand gave one real, very gentle pat. He beamed intensely on us, and passed us by. In a little while they took us to the teachers’ lounges, unbound and ungagged us, and locked us in.

It is too late to solve the problem by distribution alone. But it is better to die quickly than by starvation or malnutrition. And those who remain alive will have enough. Also, there is more land than you may think, sir. ” He watched the gun. It was the first time I had seen that face dead serious, without a trace of mockery or humor. No games, I heard his voice saying, and I saw the soldier's rueful look, and Paula's face. “Destruction of civilization sounds like a good name for it, all right.