Or did she? She....
She scowled absent-mindedly at Dr. Droon, biting her lip.
"Telzey!" Halet prompted gently.
"Huh?" Telzey said. "Oh ... please go on, doctor!"
Dr. Droon steepled his fingers. "Well," he said, "she ... your pet ... is, ah, a young crest cat. Nearly full grown now, apparently, and—"
"Why, yes!" Telzey cried.
The zoologist looked at her. "You knew that—"
"Well, not really," Telzey admitted. "Or sort of." She laughed, her cheeks flushed. "This is the most ... go ahead please! Sorry I interrupted." She stared at the wall beyond Dr. Droon with a rapt expression.
The zoologist and Halet exchanged glances. Then Dr. Droon resumed cautiously. The crest cats, he said, were a species native to Jontarou. Their existence had been known for only eight years. The species appeared to have had a somewhat limited range—the Baluit mountains on the opposite side of the huge continent on which Port Nichay had been built....