The three Earthmen stood at the base of the spaceship, their spacesuit headpieces thrown back so they could breathe in the cool thin air. They stood there peering into the deathly stillness.
"I hope there are people living here," Parker said. "It's been more than a month now—"
"Well," Hinckley said, "let's find out." He waved them forward.
They were fifty feet from the house when a woman appeared in the doorway with a silver vase. She was dressed in a grey flowing robe that covered her from neck to ankles.
"A young woman," Hinckley breathed, staring. "A woman just like any on Earth!"
His voice was loud in the silence, but the woman took no notice. She stooped and began filling the vase with sand. The two men with Hinckley shifted anxiously, settling the sand beneath their boots. Behind them the great spaceship pointed its nose at the sky.
Parker was staring intently at the girl. "I'm going to like this place," he said slowly.
They walked forward, crunching sand. But the girl took no notice of their approach. She was kneeling beside the house, scooping tiny handfuls of sand into the silver vase. When they were within five feet of her, Hinckley cleared his throat. She did not look up. He coughed.
"Maybe she's deaf," Parker suggested vaguely. His eyes wandered appraisingly over her youthful body; he licked dry lips.
Hinckley moved forward and stood before the girl. Her small white hands dug into the sand, scooping around his boots as though not aware of them.