A sound in the tunnel broke into his reverie, bringing him instantly to the alert. Soft padding footsteps. He drew his gun and aimed at the sound.
"Don't!" Susan's hand dragged his gun down. "It won't hurt us."
"Huh?" Indoctrination had taught that everything that moved upon Mars was hostile, to be killed on sight. The impulse was still strong.
"It's a cajora. The Martians keep them as pets," she insisted.
Nick's scalp crawled as the big animal glided through the darkness and its coarse fur made sandpaper sounds against Susan's legs. He had seen the six-legged beasts on the surface, large as Earth tigers.
"Mel nikko twa Klev," Susan said soothingly. "Mel nikko twa Klev?"
The creature purred.
Nick kept his gun ready and swung toward the girl. She could feel him tense with suspicion. Indoctrination had impressed upon Nick's mind the story that Jackson Jones and his daughter had turned traitor to Earth, siding in with the dangerous and degenerate Marties.
"What'd you say?" he asked.
"That's Martian." Her answer was matter-of-fact. "I asked him where Klev is."