"Wait a minute!" says Halloran. "First, we have to decide if any of this is real."
"I guess it's gotta be," says Joe.
"Whaddya mean?"
"How could a black cat make up a story like that? He never talked before."
"I do not understand t'at myself," says Foggy. "And ven I do not understand somet'ing, I tink it iss a good time to be careful."
"What could happen?" says Marvin. "If there is somebody back there—and there's no reason not to believe it—just imagine all the things we could learn from him!"
"But if the cat really was talkin' for somebody," says Joe, "he was pretty cagey about giving out information. What if it does turn out to be those squids on the beach, tryin' to con us into coming back in range where they can get control of us all?"
"Yess. Remember—t'at iss why we left so quick!"
The cat feels bad because the Klygha worries. We also worry, but it is hard—with another in the mind—to know if we worry that the Terrans will return for the Klygha, or that they will not and we will have him with us always.
The cat watches the big Terran, Halloran, as he lurches back and forth before the others. His face is dark, and we feel that it must be red if only the cat could see that color.