Saxton nodded. "I guess you are right about his being human," he said. "Some of those words were definitely Earthian."
Al-fin raised his voice in a shout, "Il-ma!"
One of the women in the center of the clearing laughed and came toward them. She was stick-thin, as were Al-fin and most of the others, and very dirty. As she came near she smiled. Her teeth were discolored and rotting. She giggled.
Al-fin indicated her with a sweep of his arm. "Mate?" he inquired.
Wallace felt himself reddening. "Is he offering her to us?" he asked Saxton.
"I think so." Saxton smiled uneasily. "It looks like it's our move now."
"We'll have to risk offending them." Wallace looked at Al-fin and shook his head vigorously. "No mate," he said.
The woman giggled again and walked away. Al-fin seemed to have lost interest. He pulled himself jerkily to his feet and went across the clearing to the fire that the two surveyors had noted earlier. A large clay kettle rested on a flat rock over the fire.
"There's meat in that kettle," Saxton said, whimsically licking his lips. "I hope he passes some around."
"I don't think we should eat any," Wallace cautioned.