Boyette pretended surprise. "Why, in my lab."
"Bring him along," instructed the Skipper and Boyette was hustled into the lab with as many men as could squeeze their way in. The drugged alien was beginning to stir feebly and the others showed their agitation with short barks as they swarmed around him. Boyette tensed. He'd have to make a break for it against impossible odds, if they discovered that he possessed their secret plans.
He concealed a sigh of relief when the investigation again was applied through the Commander and the Exec. "What were you doing, Doctor?" Kellews asked.
"Just examining the animal, sir." Suddenly he felt inspired, "I thought what nice pets they'd make back on Earth and wanted to find out if their physical structure would permit space-travel."
The men's faces relaxed. Boyette knew his answer couldn't have been more satisfactory in view of the alien Council's plans. Still, he'd have to find some way of releasing the crew from its hypnosis before he dared reveal his discovery. He knew that the beasts' power over men depended upon full concentration. The aliens were meticulously clean and at the same time very similar to Earth canines in physical structure.
The Skipper—under compulsion from the alien attached to him—still seemed dissatisfied. "What's wrong with the creature now?" Kellews persisted.
"I injected a mild sedative to quiet it for examination."
"Wasn't that a little high-handed?" inquired the Exec testily.
Boyette carefully considered the question, realising it might be a trap. "Why, sir?" he asked. "I've examined the lower animals on other planets, even dissected them. Why should those on this planet be any different?"
Again the answer was correct. However the restless movements of the aliens indicated that his reference to them as lower animals must have rankled their high intelligence.