They put away the shovel. They gave Garcia a sedative and tucked him into his bunk. They sat Kelly down in the grass and handed him a red flower to play with.
Then Captain Torkel and Lieutenant Washington and Fox stood gazing into each other's eyes.
"Say what you're thinking, Captain," said Lieutenant Washington.
Captain Torkel sighed. "All right. It adds up. The Sirians can read our minds. They know we want to bring our race here. They'll do most anything to stop us. They attacked the rocket, tried to break the ports. Garcia and Van Gundy tried to stop them. Van Gundy got killed, and Garcia scared them away with the pistol."
Lieutenant Washington squinted dubiously at the captain. "I can't believe that. Why would they be so nice to us in the village?"
"To keep us there as long as possible. To keep us away from the rocket."
"They could have killed us in the village."
"Maybe they really don't want to kill us—unless they have to. Maybe they'd rather persuade us not to return to Earth."
Fox grumbled, "You say maybe they don't like to kill. Then why would they kill Van Gundy?"
"Van Gundy was killed with his own knife. That looks like self-defense."