"Arrr," said one, tentatively shying a stone at Jane. It got her in the hip. "Arrr-aff!"
"Arrr!" shrieked all three natives, joyously hurling rocks. "Arrr-afff!"
"Wherever you girls are," the radio barked, "you get right back into the cottage and stay there!"
"That's what we were trying to do," Judy snapped, "when you oafs mixed in!"
Except for a few bruises, the girls were none the worse for their experience. However, the disappointed natives soon discovered that the cottage made an even better target for their rocks than the people. Since the prefabs were intended for use on a variety of planets, and hence had been built to endure storm, flood, and fire, as well as unanticipatable indigenous disasters, the mere bouncing of rocks off their metal and plastic sides could not inflict any serious damage, but the incessant thumping against the walls got on the girls' nerves, particularly as the natives' numbers, as well as their skill, seemed to be on the increase.
It was a relief to hear the sound of the helicopter. Fortunately, the Furbishians did not shift their attention to the vehicle or to the husbands inside it. Not being human, they were not sportsmen, and so preferred a large stationary target to a small moving one. They threw stones at the men only when they got between them and the house, which, of course, the men had to do in order to get inside.
"What is this?" Dan asked, when they had finally forced their way in. "A siege?"
"No, darling," Judy replied joyously. "A group enterprise. You see, the natives are capable of communal effort once they're given an incentive, in spite of what old Harnick said. I told you they were intelligent."
Both men groaned.