"Stop!" I said as they approached the periphery.
"Why should we?" the foremost native replied in perfect Terran.
"Because that barrier'll burn you to a nice crisp cinder if you don't."
"That's a good reason," the native said, nodding.
Then the delayed reaction took over and the shock nearly floored me, until I saw that he was wearing Alex's menticom. Well, that explained the language and the feeling of mutual distrust—and it could explain why I thought Alex had died back there in the jungle. A mental communicator snatched from its wearer's head can give that impression.
But it raised an entirely new set of questions. Where did this savage learn to operate the circlet and how did he recognize its purpose? I guess I wasn't too smart, because the native was tuned to me and I wasn't shielding my thoughts at all.
He chuckled—it sounded like the purr of a cat. "We are not stupid, Earthman."
"So I see," I said uneasily.
"I am K'wan, chief of this segment. I wish to know why you are here."
"To survey your world. We are members of the Bureau of Extraterrestrial Exploration. It is our job to make surveys of planets."