"What a warm welcome!" commented Mayne. "Have you been getting along that well, Captain Voorhis?"
"Just about," said the spacer. "One of my boys knows a few words. Rest of the time, we make signs. I gotta admit they ain't been too unfriendly."
"But they have seized your ship?"
"You're damn' right! That insurance guy they sent out don't see it that way though."
"Where is this representative of the Belt Insurance Company?" asked Mayne.
"Melin? His ship landed over on the other side of the village, about half a mile. He oughta be along soon. Must've seen you land."
Mayne wondered whether it were necessary to await the arrival of the insurance adjustor before asking any questions. To cover his hesitation, he turned to take his first good look at the hull of the Gemsbok.
"What do they think they're doing?" he demanded, staring.
The Gemsbok was—or had been—an ungraceful, thick starship on the verge of aging into scrap. Towering here between the village and the huge, bluish-green leaves of the Kappan forest, she was in the process of being transformed into a planet-bound object of a certain weird grace.
A framework was being constructed about the hull by a swarm of natives. They had reached halfway up the ship, which served as a central column. Much of the exterior appeared to be a network of strangely curved sections of wood that had been given a high polish. Mayne suspected the greenish highlights were reflections of the forest color.