"You will make no mate at all," Ro said sternly, "and there will be no table if you wander off. Your next meeting with the Oan may not be so fortunate."
He glared at her for a moment, then smiled and helped her with her burden.
The others in the cave awakened. Ro noticed that Charlotte had slept beside Carlson, but moved away shyly now that it was daylight. He noticed, too, that Grimm was seeing the same thing and seemed annoyed.
Ro smiled. These young white men were no different than Martians where a girl was concerned.
When they had finished breakfast, they sat around the floor of the cave and spoke.
It was Carlson who asked, "How do you expect the six of us to attack the rat men?"
"The Oan are cowards," Ro answered. "They are brave only because they have your weapons. But now that you are free, you can make more of these sticks that shoot fire."
Grimm laughed.
"It takes intricate machinery to construct a ray gun," he said. "Here in this wilderness we have sticks and stones to work with."
Ro sprang to his feet to tower above the man. His handsome face was twisted in anger.