In the same pleasant tone, the servo-robot began to repeat these words in the other ancient languages of Earth.
Maria's breath came in short, trembling gasps. Her lips were still apart, and she touched them with the tip of her tongue.
"Weil nur Touristen nach diesem Fleckchen Erde kommen ..." the servo-robot droned along in its pleasing voice.
"Oh, shut up!" Walther growled.
He took Maria by the arm and led her back up the path.
"Somehow," he promised her fervently, "Somewhere—we're going to finish that."
"Dthgn," she whispered in breathless wonder.
The first shipment of "tools and machinery" had been assembled at the Uniport landing. Walther received a formal notice to this effect from the local Exchange Bank. The same evening, in a backstage dressing room, he and Willy Fritsh received a rather more informative report from the gentleman who was their contact with the bootleg underworld. Every item in the shipment was listed and described with meticulous care. By reference to a leather-bound pocket notebook, the contact managed to furnish additional details.
With Willy's help, Walther was able to judge the nature of the haul. He was both pleased and disappointed. Numerically, it had more items than he had expected. Qualitatively, it left much to be desired. There were no complete literary works, only fragments. The pictures were admittedly cheap copies; the recordings were only passages from major works. A total of eight hundred items had been purchased outright by underworld agents; fourteen hundred more had been borrowed on the security of the huge deposit. The latter would have to be duplicated on Alden IV and returned to their Earth owners as quickly as possible. Walther had expended a huge fortune for a dubious return. But, through Willy, he told the contact: