The two Zirthans saluted and silently left the room, followed by the mertha. The warden shrugged his shoulders and spoke to Purnell. "It's up to them, now. I apologize for exposing you to the mertha without warning. But I know that men in your job have healthy hearts. You got a touch of what is in store for that poor devil who got away."
"What are the mertha?" asked Purnell.
"Animals from Zirth," answered the warden. "They have the same telepathic sense that the men from Zirth have, but can detect thought-patterns many miles away, whereas a Zirthan must be near. Of course they are not very intelligent but they obey simple telepathed orders from the Zirthans."
"But what happened when they came into the room? It was a terrifying feeling." Purnell shivered involuntarily as he spoke of it.
The warden smiled grimly. "Yes, I've experienced it. You see, on Zirth the animals have no sense of hearing but instead can sense things telepathically. The mertha came into the room and sensed a stranger. They were 'barking' and 'growling' at you, but mentally. As soon as Dorta came in he called them off with a mental command."
Purnell crossed his long legs and spoke. "But you told me that your Zirthan guards made escape impossible. How did this fellow get away?"
The warden grunted. "Excuse me, I said planned escape was impossible, and it is. Let a prisoner start making plans to get away and the guards are on to it at once. But this man made no plans. He was out on a work detail and saw a log floating down the river. In an instant he dived into the water and rode the log over the rapids. The guards fired at him but missed, and he made the rapids—they saw him still on the log below the white water. Impromptu action is still possible."
"Pardon me," said Purnell, "I see how that would be. But where could he go? Isn't this planet just a prison colony for Earth?"
"There are a few settlements," answered the warden. "Mostly space rats and prisoners whose terms have been served but who do not want to go back to Earth. And the space pirates have bases on some of the moons and contacts with the villagers. If he gets to a settlement they will hide him until the space pirates take him in. But he can't escape the mertha."