"I know," Parker said, "but you haven't got the guts. Besides, I'll behave myself." He looked intently at the young woman. "I just wanted to make certain they're real, that's all."
"Let's get out of here," Compton suggested. "There must be some way we can get a message through to these people. Perhaps someone in the village—"
Hinckley nodded and motioned them from the house. Compton went eagerly, but Parker lingered. The air outside seemed cooler now, and its freshness seemed strange after the pleasant fragrance inside the house.
"Go back to the ship," Hinckley told Parker. "Compton and I'll go into the village."
"I like it right here," Parker said.
"We might need someone at the ship," Hinckley said. "That's an order." His hand caressed his rifle, as though daring Parker to refuse.
Parker grinned contemptuously. "Anything you say, Captain. If you need any help, just yell." He turned away and walked toward the rocket.
"Someday I'm going to kill him," Hinckley promised. He turned to Compton. "C'mon, let's see what the village looks like."
The village was a replica of the first hut, multiplied. Some of the huts seemed to have specialized purposes as stores or warehouses, but otherwise it was the same. People sat in the houses, listening to music or watching moving pictures swarm over their hut walls. Some occasionally ventured into the street. All of them ignored the Earthmen.