"Yes. Of the three species here only the clobers have vocal chords. I
suspect the others are deaf as well as mute. Therefore, they either
have a symbiosis among themselves, which you've somehow learned to
penetrate, or their communication is telepathic."
"Good boy," Lutscher said enthusiastically. He seemed to harbor no
resentment. "I'll admit you figured it out faster than I did," he
said. "But I knew you would in time. And I allowed for that. You're
right. All life on the planet, as far as I have been able to learn,
is telepathic. But I still have the advantage. You don't know how to
contact them. And I don't think you ever will find out."
"You're stupid if you think that." Despite himself Tang found that
he was losing his temper. The man was so cocksure, and so far so
untouchable. "It may take me time but I'll find it. I'll lay you odds
on that."
"Yes, I guess you will," Lutscher said thoughtfully. "Sammy, you're
like a bulldog with a bone. You never let go, do you? I suppose I
should admire that quality in you, but I find myself wondering if I
shouldn't have killed you when I first saw you."
"You probably should have," Tang said. "Because from here in I'm going
to make certain that you never get the chance. Right now we're going to
go through your things."
A motion of anger went over Lutscher's face as he caught the
implication of Tang's words. "Damn you," he said.
"Get your boxes and dump them on your cot one at a time," Tang said.
"I'll pick out what I want."
For a moment it seemed that Lutscher was going to be stubborn. But
then, with a trait he had of moving his eyes and not turning his head,
he glanced at the gun on Tang's hip and shrugged. He rose to his feet
and walked over to his pile of boxes.
As Lutscher dumped the contents of each one on the cot Tang went
through them and picked out what he wanted. At the end he had two
pistols, a rifle, and several knives. "Now I'll take the key to your
ship," he said.
Wordlessly Lutscher reached into his pocket and pulled out a chain with
a small key on the end. He tossed it on the cot.
"I'll leave you for awhile," Tang said. "But I'll be back. And if I get
any interference from your friends I'll kill them and you too. I don't
_have_ to bring you back alive, you know."
* * * * *
Back at Lutscher's space ship Tang spent an hour transferring the
fuel remaining in Lutscher's tanks to his own ship. When he finished
his tanks were well over three-quarters full, more than enough to get
him back to Gascol 11. He made no attempt to remove the weapons from
Lutscher's vessel. He had the key, and if Lutscher were able to get
that away from him there would be no stopping him anyway.
As he walked leisurely back to the village he wondered how Lutscher
would receive him.
Unexpectedly Lutscher appeared to bear no grudge. "I'll admit I was a
bit riled when you took my guns," he said. "But I suppose it's just the
cop in you. And there's no point in our carrying a grudge. After all,
we're the only humans on the planet and we're going to be here a long
time, so we might as well stay friends."
Tang nodded but made no reply.
"Another thing," Lutscher said. "You've missed an angle in your
calculations. You think that if you can discover how I communicate
with the mahutes you'll be able to get your way. But once again you've
underestimated me, my friend. The impression I've emphasized on them
is that you're a bit demented. You act illogically. You're driven
by compulsions that have to be restrained. And the mahutes are very
susceptible."
Tang smiled. "You're clever," he said. "I'll admit it. But some day not
too long from now you and I will be heading back to civilization. I
promise you that."
"That remains to be seen," Lutscher answered. "Do you still want to
take that trip through the village we were talking about last night?"
"Why not?"
They walked out of the hut and into the clouded sunlight of the
outdoors. "Have you any idea just how intelligent the mahutes are?"
Tang asked.
"Very low quotient," Lutscher answered. "In fact I'd say that most of
their reactions were prompted by instinct rather than intelligence.
They have approximately the same reasoning power as smart dogs."
"What else have you learned about them?"
"Not too much," Lutscher said. "But I've made a few surmises." He
seemed to have entirely dismissed from his mind the unpleasant morning
occurrence. "Have you ever heard the word, androgynous?"
"It refers to flowers, doesn't it? Something about their being able to
seed themselves without stamin from other flowers?"
"That's pretty much it," Lutscher agreed. "I think that biologically
the mahutes are the same as those flowers. Each possesses within
himself the complete mechanism for self-fertilization. At least to
me there's no apparent sexual differences in any I've seen, or even
evidence of reproductive organs."
"That's interesting," Tang said. "How about the clobers? Could there
possibly be any biological connection between them and the mahutes?
Without exception each mahute has one with him wherever he goes."
"That's true," Lutscher replied. "But I suppose they just like pets.
By the way, we'll have to stop here. We're at the edge of the section
where the ankites--the stick-insects--live. It's taboo territory."
* * * * *
For some reason Tang received the distinct impression that Lutscher had
changed the subject to avoid speaking further of the clobers. In the
back of his mind he filed that away for future reference. "Why should
this area be taboo?" he asked. "The ankites seem to come and go among
the mahutes without hindrance. Or is it taboo just to you and me?"
"No. A mahute wouldn't think of entering here. They have some deep fear
of the place. What it is I don't know. They don't seem to fear the
ankites themselves."
They turned and started back for their own section of the village.
"There's another thing that puzzles me," Tang said. "That's the sealed
huts. What do you know about them?"
"Nothing, except that about one in every three is sealed. I don't
know why. The strange part is that I've seen the mahutes sealing them
with mud and sand from the river--that's what the huts are made of
originally--and I've tried to investigate but they won't let me near
them then. I suppose it'll be quite awhile before we fully understand
the organization here."
"What do the ankites and the clobers eat?" Tang asked.
"The same tree shoots that the mahutes eat," Lutscher answered. "The
mahutes gather it for them."
"Doesn't that seem strange?" Tang asked. "Do you think there's any
possibility that the ankites are in control here? You said the mahutes
weren't very intelligent."
"I hadn't thought of that before," Lutscher answered. "But I don't
think so. I believe they're simply two primitive species that have
found the means of living together in mutual cooperation."
"Just what do the ankites contribute to that cooperation?"