"What's this all about?" Hawthorne growled.
Morguma waved several arms and translated the remarks of his chief:
"We were so devastated to have a misunderstanding with your wonderful people! We are so sorry not to associate with you that we are preparing this planet for human beings to inhabit!"
O'Dea and Hawthorne stared at each other.
"Like you people of Earth." Morguma went on, "we too have an asteroid belt in our system. And in our asteroids are included many delightful pieces of frozen oxygen, nitrogen, water and other ravishingly beautiful elements that gladden the heart of a human. We are bringing these life-giving substances to this planet, Avignon!"
"I told you!" said O'Dea. "My memory didn't fail me! Paul, maybe these two-legged crocodiles aren't so bad after all—creating a planet for us—"
"When this pleasant operation is concluded," said Morguma, "we will bring humans to this planet. They will have children, whom we shall take from their parents and educate in the proper manner—"
"What!" Hawthorne's fists knotted. He moved a step in Morguma's direction, stopped when he faced a line of drawn guns. Morguma continued:
"Oh it will be such rapturous delight to instruct these little innocents in such tasks as espionage work on Earth and killing of those misguided humans who continue to fight us—"