peak more than a few grunts.
That's something." He looked carefully at Robin. "Beautiful, too," he
said. The way he said it was not a compliment. It was an objective
statement of fact.

"I know it won't help to say I'm sorry about your friend. Words won't
help, I guess. But--"

"Yeah," Glaudot said. "All right. He's dead. I can't bring him back and
you can't bring him back, sister."

"I'm not your sister," Robin said.

Glaudot told her it was a way of speaking. He couldn't quite believe his
ears. She spoke English as well as he did, which was incredible enough
here on a world halfway across the galaxy. But he got the impression
that she was almost fantastically naive. Yet the Indians--and,
incredibly, they were Indians--seemed to be subservient to her, almost
seemed to worship her.

Glaudot sat down on his space helmet, which he had taken off some
minutes before, and said: "Are you the boss lady around here?"

"Boss lady? I don't understand."

"Are you in charge? Do you run things?"

Robin smiled and said: "I created them."

"I'm sorry. Now _I_ don't get _you_."

"I said I created them. It's very simple. My friend and I decided a very
long time ago it would be nice or interesting or I forget what, it was
so long ago, if we had some Indians. So, we created Indians."

Glaudot threw his head back and laughed. "For a minute," he said, "you
almost had me believing you." The girl was dressed like a savage, he
told himself, like a beautiful savage, but at least she had a sense of
humor. That was something.

"But what is so funny?" Robin asked.

"You just now said--"

"I know what I said. My friend and I created the Indians. Of course.
Why? Can't you create anything you want? Just anything?"

"All right, sister," Glaudot said a little angrily. He did not like
being made fun of, for he lacked the capacity to laugh at himself. "Just
how much of a fool do you think I am?"

"Why, I don't know," Robin replied. "How much of a fool are you?"

Glaudot glared at her. Purcell was going to be one mad captain when he
was told of Chandler's death, but men had died on expeditions before and
it really wasn't Glaudot's fault. At any rate he had established contact
with somebody of obvious importance among the natives, and Purcell would
appreciate that.

"Never mind," Glaudot said.

"Tell me about being a spaceman. Do you really fly among the stars?"

"Well, yes," Glaudot said, "although it isn't really flying."

"An