Saxon said in perplexity, "Why did they let us escape? I don't understand it."
"We were in the foyer, alone, when it must have happened," she suggested. "Maybe they overlooked us."
"Maybe," agreed Saxon doubtfully and paused.
They had come to the end of the city which stopped abruptly as if it had been set down in the middle of the green rolling prairie. Beyond the last building, a herd of cannibal plants rolled by, browsing as they went.
"It's going to be damned tricky keeping a straight course across this," he said. "There doesn't seem to be a tree on the planet." He sighted the compass, picked out a round hill like the dome of a building, to the southwest. "We'll keep a little to the left of that hill."
Alpha Centauri A was setting. By the time they had advanced a kilometer across the prairie it was gone. The orange light of Alpha Centauri B lent a queer unearthly complexion to the scene. It became perceptibly cooler, and a breeze sprang up from the east, bringing the faint scent of bitter almonds.
Saxon lengthened his stride. "We're not keeping to schedule," he said; then, "Look at that!"
A fawn colored creature like a large cat but with four pairs of legs, broke from a draw and went undulating across the grass.
"I'm getting tired," said Ileth in a small voice.