"I'm happy to tell you," he murmured to Paula, "that I don't think much of your little pets?"
She could not allow herself to be sharply angry. She only said, in a whisper, "They are not pets, they are not animals. They—"
She broke off. Something had come over the naked people. Every head had lifted, every eye had turned away from the strangers. They were listening. Even the littlest ones were still.
Kieran could not hear anything except the wind in the trees.
"What—?" he started to ask.
Webber made an imperative gesture for silence. The tableau held for a brief second longer. Then the brown-haired man who seemed to be the leader made a short harsh noise. The people turned and vanished into the trees.
"The Sakae," Webber said. "Get out of sight." He ran toward the flitter. Paula grabbed Kieran's sleeve and pushed him toward the trees.
"What's going on?" he demanded as he ran.
"Their ears are better than ours. There's a patrol ship coming, I think."