space that the areas farther
south were the ones containing the major centers of population. The tilt
of this planet on its axis would tend to give the weather a cyclic
variation, but it appeared that the areas around the poles remained
fairly cold even when the incidence of radiation from the primary was at
maximum.

It would have been good, he decided, if he had stopped the slave-animal.
There had been more equipment on the thing's back which would have given
him more information upon which to base a judgment as to the level of
civilization of the dead being. That, however, was no longer
practicable, so he dismissed the thought from his mind.

The next question was, what should he do with the body?

Should he dispose of it properly, as one should with a validly slain
foe?

It didn't seem that he could do anything else, and yet his stomachs
wanted to rebel at the thought. After all, it wasn't as if the thing
were really a proper being. It was astonishing to find another
intelligent race; none had ever been found before, although the
existence of such had been postulated. There were certain criteria that
must be met by any such beings, however.

It must have manipulatory organs, such as this being very obviously did
have--organs very much like his own. But there were only two, which
argued that the being lacked dexterity. The organs for walking were
encased in protective clothing too stiff to allow them to be used as
manipulators.

He ripped off one of the boots and looked at the exposed foot. The thumb
was not opposed. Obviously such an organ was not much good for
manipulation.

He pried open the eating orifice and inspected it carefully. Ah! The
creature was omnivorous, judging by its teeth. There were both rending
and grinding teeth. That certainly argued for intelligence, since it
showed that the being could behave in a gentlemanly fashion. Still, it
was not conclusive.

If they _were_ intelligent, it was most certainly necessary for him to
show that he was also civilized and a gentleman. On the other hand, the
slowness and lack of strength of this particular specimen argued that
the species was of a lower order than the Nipe, which made the question
even more puzzling.

In the end, the question was rendered unnecessary for the time being,
since the problem was taken out of his hands.

A sound came from the ground a few yards away. It was an insistent
buzzing. Cautiously, the Nipe approached the thing.