Mike had been conscious of a hand touching his arm but he had paid no attention. Now, as the two Terrans turned to leave, he turned also, with tears of helpless anger welling in his eyes. It was M'Landa. The H'Lorkan spoke.
"What's he saying?" Mike asked.
As M'Landa spoke, a quick change came over Nicko. He whirled and stared back in to the cell. "He says there's another man in this cell with us. He's been talking to him. He's a Baserite."
Now Mike saw the man sitting in a shadow against the wall. Two things had kept him from noticing before—the dim light and the incidents of terrible interest down in the pit. As they approached, the man got to his feet and spoke. Mike could not understand what he said, but he now knew the man thrown brutally into the vat of purple liquid had also been a Baserite. This man in the cell could have been his twin.
"Are you able to understand him?" Mike asked Nicko.
"Sure. He said he was watching us—trying to figure out whether we were spies?"
"Spies! Spying on whom?"
The questions and answers were going back and forth through Nicko. He asked the Baserite. The man said, "Upon me."
"Who are you?"