"Oh, yeah?" commented Oscar. "How long did this go on?"
"Not very long."
"Exactly how long? You might as well tell me; I'll find out from the natives."
"Oh, well! Overnight-what's so criminal about that?"
"I don't know just how criminal it is here. On Mars, as I learned in school and as I'm sure you did too, the punishment would be to stake you out on the desert, unprotected, for exactly the same length of time."
"Hell's hells-I didn't hurt her. I'm not that silly. I wanted her co-operation."
"So you twisted her arm to get it. You held her prisoner, in effect kidnapped her by enticement and held her for ransom. Okay-you kept her overnight. What happened when you let her go?"
"That's what I'm trying to tell you. I never got a chance to turn her loose. I was going to, of course, but-"
"Sez you!"
"Don't get sarcastic. The next morning they attacked the ship. There must have been thousands of the beasts."