"He's very handy," agreed Kolin politely. He groped for a foothold.
"Well … matter of fact, I can't get through to him much, even with the Life's mental field helping. Guess he started living with a different way of thinking. It burns me. I thought of being a tree, and then he came along to take advantage of it!"
Kolin braced himself securely to stretch tiring muscles.
"Maybe I'd better stay a while," he muttered. "I don't know where I am."
"You're about fifty feet up," the sighing voice informed him. "You ought to let me tell you how the Life helps you change form. You don't have to be a tree."
"No?"
"Uh-uh! Some of the boys that landed with me wanted to get around and see things. Lots changed to animals or birds. One even stayed a man—on the outside anyway. Most of them have to change as the bodies wear out, which I don't, and some made bad mistakes tryin' to be things they saw on other planets."
"I wouldn't want to do that, Mr. Ashlew."
"There's just one thing. The Life don't like taking chances on word about this place gettin' around. It sorta believes in peace and quiet. You might not get back to your ship in any form that could tell tales."
"Listen!" Kolin blurted out. "I wasn't so much enjoying being what I was that getting back matters to me!"