Page 10 (1/2)

The captain rejoined them before anyone could comment further, and he led the firsteveryone else to be seated Heof their conversation hiot situated he said, "It seems as if you’ve heard about the movement in the front I want you all to know, it’s to be expected, and it’s so to be concerned about, for I’ve got the freshest of all possible coordinates right here" He indicated a slip of paper covered in dots, dashes, and so "We’ll leave within the next five a within a few hours"

With that, he donned an aviator’s hat and a pair of goggles that were largely for show He waved at the two crew naled to the passengers that the ship was ready to disengage, and flashed a big thu the controls

Four

The next leg of the journey took thereen and brown hills, brittle and dry with the season, revealing crags, cliffs, waterfalls, and enor, Mercy could pick out fires between the trees and on the interht be--troops or travelers or hoh his overly loud speaking tube

"Down below us--oh! There’s one, just to the right You see those little sparks? Those fires that look so tiny froers mumbled assent

He said, " ’Shiners, the lot of the, and in the rural parts between the county lines, where they aren’t likely to be bothered"

"Their distillations?" asked Mr Rand

The old lady spoke up "Busthead Red-​eye Mountain dew They’re brewing alcohol, Mr Rand," she inforht besoul than they’d previously assumed "The South would like to tax it for revenue, but the folks who produce it often lack any other source of income; so I trust you can see the difficulty"

"Absolutely," Mr Rand nearly purred "Though I don’t suppose the CSA has the tiers"

This time it was the clubfooted lad who contributed "The local authorities--sheriffs, policeanized--they’re given leave by the capital in Danville to pursue the moonshiners at a personal profit, provided they collect the unpaid taxes It’s been co, and is approximately as popular as that old practice" He sounded as if he were reciting soe of a newspaper’s article, or a textbook’s chapter

Gordon Rand serous, to both sides of the law Yes, I understand"

Mercy seethed a ers, "You know, not everyone does it to dodge the law Soht as well tax the chickens for s as try to shake folks down for the pennies theyat her strangely, she added, "Yes, my father brews up a barrel or two, every so often Ain’t nobody’s business if he does"

She straightened in her seat and fluffed up her s to use it as a pillow She jaly chilly

The student named Dennis said to the one named Larsen, "It does raise questions about the invasion of the private sector by the public office, and where those lines ought to be drawn To what lengths can a society reach in order to maintain order?"

The other student’s response could’ve been cribbed frorossed and ignoring her The other passengers retreated to their newspapers, novels, or naps

Between dozing and the inevitable tedium, Mercy was uncertain how ain--the one that, she’d been assured, was only the result of a pneumatic hammer But this time, when she looked out over the now-​black mountains and valleys below, she knew she ell above any hammers or other tools And down there, in broken lines and in sparkling flashes, she could see ers were awake already and watching in utter silence, except for the elderly man, who still rested his head upon his wife But even she strained to see over his head and out the ondering, like the rest of the

The captain, ordinarily ebullient and talkative, was quiet Mercy could see hiap in the curtain that separated the cockpit frolow of the low-​lit cockpit lamps, she could tell that his knuckles hite on the steering column He shot a nervous look at the firstdown below, and then with soer cabin He hissed back at the crew hts Every last one of the was loud in the otherwise empty space, and the twothe strings that gave a dilow to the Zephyr’s interior

Gordon Rand asked, in his quietest and calmest voice, "Surely they can’t see us, all the way up here?"

"They can see us," the captain replied, equally quiet but only half as calm "All they have to do is look up Probleht ere far enough frohts back at the station"