They were tossing it back and forth in the middle of a cheering group
when a half-track passed, taking Montgomery, Candy and Ratakka to the
main camp. The look that the girl gave Bill was disdainful.
"There's a gaggle of natives outside in assorted shades," said Pat
Reed the next day. "They want to play ball. Moahlo's at their head. He
carved a bat."
"Tell them to beat it. We're busy."
"Let's give them some fun while we can. They won't enjoy life much
after King Rat gets back here."
"That's the truth," Bill agreed. "All right."
* * * * *
"I wish your painted idiots would get over their baseball mania,"
complained Rudy Peters, the mineralogist, two days later. "Look me over
carefully, will you, Bill? I think my throwing arm just dropped off."
"They're nutty about it, all right," Bill Bradley said. "Too bad it
couldn't have been about something with some economic value."
"Economic value, the man wants. Okay, I'll talk economic value to you.
Bet you fifty units I can make a better ball team out of these freaks
than you can."
"Well, make it thirty."
"You're on, sucker. I've lined up the sweetest shortstop that ever spit
in a glove ..."
"Here's your thirty," said Rudy Peters a week after. "How was I to
know that shortstop wouldn't throw the ball to anyone except the
center-fielder?"
"Team play's the stuff, lad," said Bill Bradley. "Stress team play.
Twenty-five, twenty-seven, twenty-nine, thirty. Exactly right. Another
lesson at the same price?"
He was refused, but never on an exploration had Bill Bradley had so
much fun. And never, he reminded himself grimly, had he got so little
work done. The Quxas were neglecting their skimpy food plots in their
eagerness to play. They were getting lean. Finally, with reluctance,
Bill called a temporary halt to baseball.
"Billbrad say no baseball until work done," said Moahlo sadly to Adlaa.
"Sometimes Billbrad talk like southpaw pitcher."
Adlaa was trying to cultivate his food plot with the help of a thrag.
The beast was of independent mind. It dragged Adlaa in eccentric ovals,
in defiance of agricultural needs.
"Adlaa want finish work, play baseball," the Quxa commented. "Thrag no
play baseball, say nuts to work. Adlaa be old like Old Hoss Radbourne
before work done."
Moahlo contemplated. "Adlaa have trouble his thrag. Moahlo have trouble
his. Moahlo help Adlaa his thrag and Adlaa help Moahlo his. Get work
done more faster."