The small animal made a sound like the tinkling of little bells and the native walked three more steps and stopped. He bent down and the teddybear pet sprang up onto the pile of branches and rode there. Once the native turned his body to see if Tang was still following, then paid no further attention to him until they reached the village.
On the way they met several more of the man-type creatures, each with one of the doughballs tagging along, but none of them did more than glance at Tang. Most of them ignored him completely.
Once five of the stick-insects cut across their path. The native stopped to let them pass before he walked on. Ignoring each other seemed to be the custom here, Tang thought whimsically.
The same held true after they entered the village: Men, insects, and pets mingled indiscriminately, each seemingly oblivious to the presence of the others.
"Welcome to our fair city," a voice said, and Tang spun halfway around.
II
Tang pulled his sidearm part way out before he noted that the man standing in the doorway of one of the huts was unarmed. He was also shoeless and bare to the waist. Sweat ran down the blond hairs on his chest and a week's growth of blond whiskers sprouted from his face. The visible portion of his features, and his candid blue eyes, were young, but his temples were peppered with gray.
"Surely you can't be as surprised to see me as you seem," the stranger said. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Bill Lutscher; and, of course, you are the famous man-hunter, Sammy Tang."
Lutscher smiled and stepped from the doorway with his hand extended. Tang gripped the hand unhesitatingly, astounded to find himself liking the man. Then he remembered ruefully that Lutscher was famous for his charm. In fact, that charm was the very quality that had indirectly made him the sought-after man he was.