"Why, certainly, certainly." He bowed. "In the meantime it was a pleasure to have met you, Miss Boyce."
"I'm sure," she replied coldly. She lifted her head, and from her lips suddenly poured an astonishing babble, a mixture of coughing, grunting and chirping. There began to be movement in the brush, and some of the things there began lurching and crashing off.
"Where are they going?" Pritchard strove for a casual tone.
"I'm deploying them along your trail," she said with equal calm. "They will escort you out of this jungle and report to me when you re-enter the ship."
"And you were really talking to them?"
She shrugged, as if at a childish question. "Of course."
He studied her, and his long features slid into a crooked, embarrassed smile. "Miss Boyce, I owe you an apology. Maybe you've got something here after all."
She raised weary eyebrows. "If you're quite through looking at my body, you can go now."
He laughed shortly. "I wasn't, especially. Although it's very—"
"Good-bye!"