He went and stood over it, seeing that his first guess as to its nature had been correct. It was one of the intelligent traveling plants that wandered around the oceans of this world. It should have been at home in this situation. Evidently, however, it had made the mistake of coming ashore here to seed. It was now rooted in the soil of the island, facing death as surely as he; if the wind or the waves tore it from its own helplessly anchored roots.
"Can you understand me?" he asked it.
There was an odd sort of croaking from it, which seemed to shape itself into words, though the how of it remained baffling to the ear. It was a sort of supplemental telepathy at work, over and above the rough attempts to imitate human speech. Some of these intelligent plants they had got to know in this area could communicate with them in this fashion, though most could not.
"I know you, man," said the plant. "I have seen your gathering." It was referring to the Advance Base, which had attracted a steady stream of the plant visitors at first.
"Know any way to get ashore?" Calvin asked.
"There is none," said the plant.
"I can't see any, either."
"There is none," repeated the plant.
"Everyone to his own opinion," said Calvin. Almost he sneered a little. He turned his gaze once more about the island. "In my book, them that won't be beat can't be beat. That's maybe where we're different, plant."