* * * * *
Now that he was able to give the creature a more thorough inspection,
Bernardi saw that he really didn't look too much like a lizard. He
definitely appeared to be wearing clothes of some kind, which, in the
Venusian heat, indicated a particularly refined degree of
civilization--unless, of course, the squamous skin protected him from
the heat as well as the humidity.
More than that, though, he was humanoid in almost a Hollywood way. He
had a particularly fine profile and an athletic physique, which, oddly,
his scales seemed to enhance, much like a movie idol dressed in
fine-meshed Medieval armor. Naturally, he had a tail, but it was as well
proportioned as a kangaroo's, though shorter and more graceful, and it
struck Professor Bernardi as a particularly handsome and useful gadget.
For one thing, the people from Earth were standing uncomfortably in the
slippery mud, while the lizard-man was using his tail much in the
fashion of a spectator stool, leaning back against it almost in a
sitting position, with his armor-shod feet supporting him comfortably.
For another, the tail undoubtedly served for balance and the added push
of a walking stick and perhaps for swift attack or getaway. Very
practical and attractive, the professor concluded--too bad Man had
relinquished his tail when climbing down from the trees.
"Thank you," the saurian said with uneasy modesty, looking at him. "Good
of you to think so. You are a fairly intelligent species, aren't you?"
"Fairly," the professor acknowledged, preoccupied with a clever idea.
Perhaps existence on Venus wasn't going to be as unpleasant as he had
anticipated. "From reading my mind, you know what this blaster can do,
don't you?"
"I'm afraid so."
"Then you know what I expect of you?"
"Yes, sahib. I'se comin', massa. To hear is to obey, effendi." The
creature turned and went briskly back toward the camp, leaving the
others to stumble after him.
Mrs. Bernardi gave a shriek as his handsome scaled form emerged from the
greenish-white underbrush, haloed in luminous yellow mist. Algol, the
ship's cat, prudently took sanctuary behind her, then peered out to see
what was going on and whether there was likely to be anything in it for
him.
"This is our native bearer," Professor Bernardi explained as the three
scientists burst out of the jungle.
"My name is Jrann-Pttt." The creature bowed low. "At your service,
madame."
"Oh, Carl!" Mrs. Bernardi clapped her hands. "He's just perfect! So
thoughtful of you to find one that speaks English! I do hope you can
cook, Pitt?"
"I will do my best, madame."
* * * * *
Algol daintily picked his way through the mud toward the saurian,
sniffed him with judicial deliberation; then, deciding that anyone who
smelled so much like the better class of fish must be All Right, rubbed
against his legs.
"Well," remarked Miss Anspacher, using the side of the spaceship as a
mirror by which to redden her somewhat prissy lips, "that makes it
practically unanimous, doesn't it?"
"All except Professor Bernardi," said Jrann-Pttt, looking at the
scientist with what might have been a smile. "He doesn't like me."
"I see that your telepathic powers are not quite accurate," the
professor returned. "I do not dislike you; I distrust you."
"The fact that the two terms are not entirely synonymous in your
language would argue a certain degree of incipient civilization," the
lizard-man observed.
"You know, Carl," Mrs. Bernardi whispered, "he has an awfully funny way
of talking, for a native."
"Frankly I don't like this at all, Professor," Captain Greenfield said,
mopping his brow with a limp handkerchief. "If I hadn't been off looking
for a better berth for the ship--all this mud worries me--this'd never
have happened."
"You mean you would have let the lizard get away with Miss Anspacher?"
The big man's face flushed crimson. "I don't think that's funny,
Professor."
Bernardi quickly changed the subject, for he realized that the captain,
being by far the most muscular of the party, was not a man to trifle
with. "Tell me, Greenfield, did you succeed in finding a better spot for
the ship? I must admit I'm worried about that mud myself."
"Only remotely dry spot around is an outcropping 'bout two kilometers
away," Greenfield said grudgingly. He shifted his camp stool in a futile
search for shade. Even though the sun never penetrated the thick layer
of clouds, the yellow light diffused through them was blinding. "Might
be big enough, but it's not level. Could blast it smooth, but that'd
take at least a week--Earth time."
Bernardi pulled his damp shirt away from his body. "Well, I daresay
we'll be all right where we are, if we're not assailed by any violent
forces of nature. On Earth, this might be a monsoon climate."
"If you ask me, that monster is more of a danger than any monsoon."
Bernardi sighed. Although by far the most competent officer available
for the job of spaceship captain, Greenfield was not quite the man he
would have chosen to be his associate for months on end. Still,
beggars--as Miss Anspacher might have eloquently put it--could not be
choosers. "What makes you say that?" he asked, trying to set an example
of tolerance.
"Don't like the idea of him cooking for us," the captain said
stubbornly. "Might poison us all in our beds."
"Well, don't eat in your bed," suggested Mortland, strolling out of the
airlock in the company of the cat. Algol, however, finding that the spot
beside the captain's camp stool was as dry as anything could be on
Venus, decided to turn back.
* * * * *
"The difficulty is easily overcome, Captain," the professor said, still
holding on to his patience. "You can continue to cook your own meals
from the tinned and packaged foods on board ship. The rest of us will
eat fresh native foods prepared by Jrann-Pttt."
"But why," Miss Anspacher interrupted as she emerged from the airlock
with a large cast-iron skillet, "should you think Jrann-Pttt wants to
poison us?"
Both men rose from their stools. "Stands to reason he'd consider us his
enemies, Miss Anspacher," the captain said. "After all, we--as a group,
that is--captured him."
"Hired him," Professor Bernardi contradicted. "I've telepathically
arranged to pay him an adequate salary. In goods, of course; I don't
suppose our money would be of much use to him. And I think he's rather
glad of the chance to hang around and observe us conveniently."
"Observe us!" Greenfield exclaimed. "You mean he's spying out the land
for an attack? Let's prepare our defenses at once!"
"I doubt if that's what he has in mind," Professor Bernardi said
judiciously.
"He may be staying because he wants to be near me," Miss Anspacher
blurted. Overcome by this unmaidenly admission, she reddened and rushed
from them, calling, "Yoo-hoo, Jrann-Pttt! Here is the frying pan!" Algol
woke up instantly and followed her. "Frying" was one of the more
important words in his vocabulary.
Captain Greenfield stared across the clearing after them, then turned
back to Bernardi with a frown. "I don't like to see one of our girls
mixed up with a lizard--and a foreign lizard at that." But his face too
clearly betrayed a personal resentment.
"Don't tell me you have a--a fondness for Miss Anspacher, Captain,"
Professor Bernardi exclaimed, genuinely surprised. Undeniably Miss
Anspacher--although no longer in her first youth--was a handsome woman,
but he would not have expected her somewhat cerebral type to appeal to
the captain. On the other hand, she was the only unattached woman in the
party and they were a long way from home.
Greenfield picked a fleck of dried violet mud from the side of the ship
and avoided Bernardi's eye. "One of the reasons I came along," he said
almost bashfully. "Thought I'd have the chance to be alone with her now
and again and impress her with, with...."
"Your sterling qualities?" Bernardi suggested.
The captain flashed him a glance of mingled gratitude and resentment.
"And now this damned lizard has to come along!"
"Cheer up, Captain," said the professor. "I'll back you against a lizard
any time."
* * * * *
Although the long twilight of Venus had deepened into night and it could
never really be cool there by terrestrial standards, the temperature was
almost comfortable. Everything was quite black, except for the pallid
purple campfire glowing through the darkness; the clouds that
perpetually covered the surface of the planet prevented even the light
of the stars from reaching it.
"Tell me more about the cross-versus the parallel-cousin relationships
in your culture, Jrann-Pttt," Miss Anspacher breathed, wriggling her
camp stool closer to the saurian's. "Anthropology is a great hobby of
mine, you know. How do your people feel about exogamy?"
"I'm afraid I'm rather exhausted, dear lady," he said, using one arm to
mask a yawn, and one to surreptitiously wave away the saurian head that
was peering out of the underbrush. "I shouldn't like to give a scientist
like yourself any misinformation that might become a matter of record."
"Of course not," she murmured. "You're so considerate."
* * * * *
A pale face appeared in the firelight like some weird creature of
darkness. Terrestrial and extraterrestrial both started. "Miss
Anspacher," the captain growled, "I'd like to lock up the ship, so if
you wouldn't mind turning in--"
Miss Anspacher pouted. "You've interrupted such an interesting
conversation. And I don't see why you have to lock up the ship. After
all, the night is three hundred and eighty-five hours long. We don't
sleep all that time and it would be a shame to be cooped up."
"I'm going to try to rig up some floodlights," Greenfield explained
stiffly, "so we won't be caught like this again. Nobody bothered to tell
me the day equals thirty-two of ours, so that half of it would be
night."
"Then I won't see you for almost two weeks of our time, Jrann-Pttt? Are
you sure you wouldn't like to spend the rest of the night in our ship?
Plenty of room, you know."
"No, thank you, dear lady. The jungle is my natural habitat. I should
feel stultified by walls and a ceiling. Don't worry--I shan't run away."
"Oh, I'm not worried," Miss Anspacher said coyly, throwing a stick of
wood on the fire.
"Small riddance if he does."
"Captain Greenfield!"
That part of the captain's face not concealed by his piratical black
beard turned red. "Well, if he can read our minds, he knows damn well
what I'm thinking, anyway, so why be hypocritical about it?"
"That's right--he is a telepath, isn't he?" Miss Anspacher's face grew
even redder than the captain's. "I forgot he.... It _is_ getting late. I
really must go. Good night, Jrann-Pttt."
"Good night, dear lady." The saurian bowed low over her hand.
Leaning on the captain's brawny arm, Miss Anspacher ploughed through the
mud to the ship, followed by the mosquito-bat and Algol, who had been
toasting themselves more or less companionably at the fire. The door to
the airlock clanged behind all four of them.
* * * * *
The other saurian's head appeared again from the bush. _Jrann-Pttt_, the
insistent thought came, _shall I rescue you now_?
_Why, Dfar-Lll? I am not a prisoner. I'm quite free to come and go
as I please. But let's get away from the strangers' ship while we
communicate. They do have a certain amount of low-grade perception and
might be able to sense the presence of another personality. At any rate,
they might look out of a port and see you._
Keeping the illuminator on low beam, Dfar-Lll led the way through the
bushes. _Seems to me you're going to an awful lot of trouble just to get
zoo specimens_, the youngster protested, disentangling its arms from the
embrace of an amorous vine. _There's really no reason for carrying on
the work since Lieutenant Merglyt-Ruuu ... passed on._
Jrann-Pttt sat down on a fallen log and, tucking up his graceful tail,
signaled his junior to join him. _In the event that we do decide to
return to base, some handsome specimens might serve to offset the
lieutenant's demise._
_Return to base? But I thought we were...._
_We haven't found swamp life pleasant, have we? After all, there's no
real reason why we shouldn't go back. Is it our fault that Merglyt-Ruuu
happened to meet with a fatal accident?_
_We-ell ... but will the commandant see it that way?_
_On the other hand, if we don't go back, wouldn't it be a good idea to
attach ourselves to an expedition that, no matter how alien, is better
equipped for survival than we? And carrying out our original purpose
seemed the best way of getting to meet these strangers informally, as it
were._
_They are unquestionably intelligent life-forms then?_
_After a fashion._ Jrann-Pttt yawned and rose. _But why are we sitting
here? Let's start back to our camp. We will be able to converse more
comfortably._
They made their way through the jungle--now walking, now wading where
the mud became water. Small creatures with hardly any thoughts scurried
before them as they went.
_The commandant may have already made contact with their rulers_,
Dfar-Lll suggested, springing forward to illuminate the way. _In that
case, we couldn't hope to remain undiscovered for long._
_Oh, these creatures are not Venusians. There's no intelligent life
here. They hail from the third planet of this system and, according to
their thoughts, this is the only vessel that was capable of traversing
interplanetary space. So we needn't worry about extradition treaties or
any other official annoyances._
_If they're friendly, why didn't you spend the night in their ship? It
certainly looks more comfortable than our collapsible moslak--which, by
the way, collapsed while you were gone. I hope we'll be able to put it
up again ourselves. I must say this for the lieutenant--he was good at
that sort of thing._
Jrann-Pttt made a gesture of distaste. _He was unfortunately good at
other things, too. But let's not discuss him. I'm not staying with the
strangers because I want to pick up one or two little things--mostly
some of our food to serve them. I used up all the supplies in my pack
and I want them to think we're living off the land. They believe me to
be a primitive and it's best that they should until I decide just how
I'm going to make most efficient use of them. Besides, I didn't want to
leave you alone._
The younger saurian sniffed skeptically.
* * * * *
"Honestly, Pitt," Mrs. Bernardi said, keeping to leeward of the
tablecloth the lizard-man was efficiently shaking out of the airlock,
"I've never had a--an employee as competent as you." But the word she
had in mind, of course, was "servant." "I do wish you'd come back to
Earth with us."
"Perhaps you would compel me to come?" he suggested, as Algol and the
mosquito-bat entered into hot competition to catch the crumbs before
they sank into the purple ooze.
"Oh, no! We'd want you to come as our guest--our friend." _Naturally_,
her thoughts ran, _a house guest would be expected to help with the
washing up and lend a hand with the cooking--and, of course, we wouldn't
have to pay him. Though my husband, I suppose, would requisition him as
a specimen._
_I fully intend to go to Earth with them_, Jrann-Pttt mused, _but
certainly not in that capacity. Nor would I care to be a specimen. I
must formulate some concrete plan._
The captain was crawling on top of the spaceship, scraping off the dried
mud, brushing away the leaves and dust that marred its shining purity.
The hot, humid haze that poured down from the yellow clouds made the
metal surface a little hell. Yet it was hardly less warm on the other
side of the clearing, where Miss Anspacher tried desperately to write up
her notes on a table that kept sinking into the spongy ground, and
hindered by the thick wind that had arisen half an hour before and which
kept blowing her papers off. The sweet odor of the flowers tucked in the
open neck of her already grimy white blouse suddenly sickened her and
she flung them into the mud.
"We won't be going back to Earth for a long time!" she called. Gathering
up the purple-stained papers, she came toward the others, little puffs
of mist rising at each step. "We like it here. Lovely country."
How could she think to please even the savage she fancied him to be by
such an inanity, Jrann-Pttt wondered. No one could possibly like that
fetid swamp. Or was it not so much that she was trying to please him as
convince herself? Was there some reason the terrestrials had for needing
to like Venus. It hovered on the edge of the women's minds. If only it
would emerge completely, he could pick it up, but it lurked in the
shadows of their subconscious, tantalizing him.
"I'd like to know when we're going to start putting up the shelters,"
Mrs. Bernardi said, pushing a streak of fog-yellow hair out of her eyes.
"I can't stand being cooped up for another night on that ship."
"You're planning to put up shelters--to live outside of the ship?" This
would seem to confirm his darkest suspicions. Even a temporary
settlement would leave them too open to visitation from the commandant.
What his attitude toward the aliens might be, Jrann-Pttt didn't know. He
might consider them as specimens, as enemies or as potential allies.
What his attitude toward Jrann-Pttt and his companion would be, however,
the saurian knew only too well. Had they reported the lieutenant's
demise immediately, it was possible the commandant might have been
brought to believe it was an accident. Now he would unquestionably think
Jrann-Pttt had killed Merglyt-Ruuu on purpose--which was not true; how
was Jrann-Pttt to know that the mud into which he'd knocked the
lieutenant was quicksand?
"Anything against putting up shelters?" Captain Greenfield growled from
his perch.
"Monster!" the mosquito-bat shrieked at the cat. "Monster! Monster!"
* * * * *
There was a painfully embarrassed silence.
"The creature is not intelligent," Jrann-Pttt explained, smiling. "It
merely has vocal apparatus that can reproduce a frequently heard word,
like--you have a bird, I believe, a--" he searched their minds for the
word--"a parrot."
"Monster!" the mosquito-bat continued. "Monster! Monster!"
"Shut up or I'll wring your neck!" the captain snarled. The mosquito-bat
obeyed sullenly, apparently recognizing the threat in his tone.
But the concept of "monster" hung heavily in the air between the
terrestrials and the lizard-man. _They should not feel so bad about it_,
he thought, _for they are the monsters themselves. But that would never
occur to them and I can hardly reassure them by saying...._
"Don't worry," Professor Bernardi said smoothly. "To him, it's we who
are the monsters."
A sudden gust of wind nearly whipped the tablecloth out of Jrann-Pttt's
hands. He fought with it for a moment, glad of something tangible to
contend with. "About the shelters," he said. "They might not stand up
against a storm."
"So this is monsoon country," Bernardi observed thoughtfully. "Do you
know when the storms usually come, Jrann-Pttt?" The other shook his
head. "Peculiar. There usually is a season for that sort of thing."
"I ... come from another part of the planet."
"Storms here are bad, eh?" the captain commented, swinging himself down
easily. "Frankly, that worries me. Ship's resting on mud as far as I can
see, and if there's one thing I do know something about, it's mud. If it
got any wetter, the ship might sink."
"Maybe we should leave," Mrs. Bernardi suggested. "Go to another part of
the planet where it's drier, or--" she tried not to show the sudden
surge of hope--"leave for home and come back after the rainy season."
There was a sudden silence, and Jrann-Pttt found himself able to pick up
the answers to some of his questions from the alien minds. His worst
fears were confirmed. Plan A was out. But something could still be done
with these creatures.
"Doesn't she know?" the captain demanded accusingly. "You brought her
here without telling her?"
Bernardi spread his hands wide in a futile gesture. "She should know;
I've told her repeatedly. She just doesn't understand ... or doesn't
want to."
"I know they'll forgive us," Mrs. Bernardi said stubbornly.
"We--you--haven't done anything really wrong, so how could they do
anything terrible to us? After all, didn't they refuse you the funds
because they said you couldn't--"
"Shhh, Louisa," her husband commanded.
Jrann-Pttt smiled to himself.
--"do it," she went on. "And you did. So they were wrong and they'll
have to forgive us."
"Tcha!" Miss Anspacher said. "Since when was there any fairness in
justice?"
"On the other hand," Mrs. Bernardi continued, "we have no idea of how
dangerous the storms here could be."
"Very dangerous," Jrann-Pttt said.
"For you, perhaps," the captain retorted. "Maybe not for us."
"Now that's silly," Miss Anspacher said. "You can see that Jrann-Pttt is
much more--" she blushed--"sturdily built than we are."
"I don't mean that we could face it without protection," the captain
replied angrily. "Naturally I mean that our superior technology could
cope with the effects of any storm."
"Well, Captain, we'll have to put that superior technology to use at
once," the professor told him. "You'd better start blasting that rock."
Laden with equipment and malevolent thoughts, the captain trudged off
into the murky jungle. The others would not even offer to help.
Confounded scientists; they certainly took his status as captain
seriously. He wished, for a disloyal moment, that he had stayed on
Earth. The quiet routine of a test pilot had prepared him for nothing
like this. Were Miss Anspacher and adventure worth it? At the moment, he
thought not. But he was on Venus and it was too late to change his mind.
Jrann-Pttt followed him into the jungle, keeping some distance behind,
for he had good reason to suspect that Greenfield would take his warm
interest in terrestrial technology for plain spying. Or, worse yet, he
might try to press the lizard-man into service; Jrann-Pttt felt he had
demeaned himself quite enough already.
"Have you noticed," Miss Anspacher asked, pushing the mass of damp brown
hair off her neck as she came alongside him, "how the--the smell--" _a
scientist does not mince words_--"of the swamp has grown stronger?"
Jrann-Pttt halted. He had a good idea of what the captain's reactions to
the sight of himself and Miss Anspacher arriving hand-in-hand would be.
"Yes, it is getting rather overpowering. Perhaps, for a lady of your
delicate sensibilities, it would be best to--"
"I can stand a bad smell just as well as a male--any male!"
"Perhaps even better," Jrann-Pttt said, "for I was on the verge of
turning back myself."
"Oh," she said, appeased. "Well, in that case, I'll go back with
you ... how quiet everything is!"
He had not noticed. For him, it would never be quiet because of the
stream of jangled thoughts constantly pouring into the back of his mind
from everything sentient that surrounded him.
For a moment, he wondered what it would be like to be non-telepathic
like the terrestrials, to have peace from the clamor of confused
impressions, emotions and ideas that persistently beat at his mind. But
that would be wondering how it was to be deaf to avoid discord, or blind
to shut out ugliness.
"The lull before the storm, I suppose," she said brightly. _Now is his
opportunity to kiss me--only perhaps they don't have kissing in his
society. His mouth does seem to be the wrong shape. And if I kissed him,
it might violate a taboo._
During their short absence, the citrine clouds that closed off the sky
had changed to a sinister umber. It was now almost as dusky in the
clearing as in the jungle itself, when Jrann-Pttt and Miss Anspacher
returned and joined the others.
Professor Bernardi stood looking up with sharp gray eyes at a sky he
could not see. "I hope Greenfield can finish the blasting more quickly
than he estimated," he muttered.
"Will we hear the noise way out here, Carl?" his wife worried nervously.
"Only two kilometers away? Of course we'll hear it. I do wish you
wouldn't always be asking such stupid questions."
She shivered. "Well, I hope they get it over with right away. If we just
have to sit here waiting and waiting and waiting, I'll go mad. I know I
will."
"You should try to keep your nerves in check, Louisa," Miss Anspacher
snapped. _Silly little fool._
"At least I can control my glands!" Mrs. Bernardi flared back.
_Sex-starved spinster._
"I shall make some tea, ladies," Jrann-Pttt interposed. "I'm sure we
will all feel the better for it."
Mrs. Bernardi smiled at him feebly. "You're such a comfort, Pitt. I
don't know why you of all creatures should be the one to remind me of
home."
"Home," remarked Mortland, emerging from the airlock, "is where the
heart is. Did I hear someone say 'tea'?"
* * * * *
As Jrann-Pttt hung the kettle over the fire, suddenly the air erupted in
stunning violence of sound. The ground undulated under their feet and
water slopped out of the kettle, almost putting out the fire that rose
high to claw at it. Rivulets of thick, muddy liquid welled out of the
ground and drabbled their feet. The women turned pale. Algol gave a
faint cry and hid under Mrs. Bernardi's skirts, trembling, while the
mosquito-bat tried to lift Mortland's toupee and hide in his hair. The
ship itself quivered and seemed to jump slightly in the air, then
returned to its resting place.
All was quiet again, quieter than it had been before. Mortland anxiously
gnawed his light mustache. "Better hurry with that tea, there's a good
fellow. I'm violently allergic to loud noises."
"They'll probably continue all day," the professor said with almost
malevolent cheerfulness, "so you might as well get used to them." _Who
is he to have nerves? I am easily the most sensitive person here, but I
manage to control myself._
"I don't know how I'm going to stand it!" Mrs. Bernardi shrieked. "I
just know something terrible is going to happen."
"Please try to restrain yourself, Louisa," her husband ordered. "After
it's over, you'll find we'll be much more comfortable and secure with
the ship resting on rock."
"If you ask me, that blast made it sink a little," Mortland said. "I
wonder whether--"
He was interrupted by a thrashing in the bushes. Dfar-Lll burst forth,
shedding scales. _Do not despair, Jrann-Pttt. I am here, ready to save
you or die at your side._
The women clutched each other, Miss Anspacher praying silently and
fervently to Juno, Lakshmi, Freya, Isis and a host of other esoteric
female deities she had picked up in the course of her avocational
researches.
"He seems to be one of Jrann-Pttt's people," Bernardi observed, "so
there should be nothing to fear."
_Dfar-Lll, you fool!_ Jrann-Pttt ideated angrily. _Nothing's wrong.
They're just blasting out a better berth for their vessel. And now
you've spoiled my plans._
"What did you think at that poor little creature!" Mrs. Bernardi blazed.
"He's crying!" And, sure enough, amethyst tears were oozing out of the
young saurian's large, liquid eyes.
_I du-didn't mean any harm._
"Monster!" Mrs. Bernardi accused Jrann-Pttt. "All men are monsters,
whether they're aliens or not."
"You're so right, Louisa!" Miss Anspacher exclaimed, regarding the
younger creature in an almost kindly manner.
_I'm sorry, r-Lll_, Jrann-Pttt apologized. _I was upset by that noise,
too. How could you possibly know what it was? Come, let me introduce you
to the creatures._
Dfar-Lll stepped forward diffidently. Jrann-Pttt put a hand on the
moss-green shoulder. "Allow me to introduce my companion, Dfar-Lll," he
said aloud.
The youngster looked at him.