And this curious fellow was none the less a primate in spite of the fact that his face bore the stamp of civilization and he wore clothing. He was curious—even more curious than one of the Sscantovian apes. He walked forward boldly in spite of the fact that he was a prisoner and must know that fact. The catman wondered how bold the primate would have been if his ship had landed of its own free will—or had landed despite the objections of his six ships.
If he were bold now, a prisoner, he would be downright arrogant as a victorious captor.
Linzete, the catman, stopped. He didn't like primates, and the idea of confronting a primate armed with intelligence as well as the natural instincts of the apeman bothered him.
At Linzete's commandatory motion, Cliff Lane stopped. But not until he'd taken a full step beyond the catman's command just to show him. Twenty paces apart they stood, eying one another.
Cliff smiled.
Linzete's eyes glittered.
Cliff shrugged. This was getting nowhere.
Linzete took a step forward, and Cliff stepped forward two steps.