We went out together....
The Venusians had already cleared a circle fifty yards in diameter. They clustered around this circle like hungry dogs waiting for the kill. Shad Brisbee, stark naked, grinning out of all of his six eyes, looking nine feet tall and fit to dance all month, grinned as he waited. In Shad Brisbee's mind, here was a lamb being led to the slaughter.
Shad Brisbee and I had one thing in common—we both agreed on this lamb led to the slaughter idea.
I squatted on the ground at the edge of the circle and tried to lose myself between the legs of the Venusians towering over me.
Have you ever seen a Venusian dance? If you haven't, you have missed one of the weirdest sights in the solar system. They do everything in the books on ballets, ball room dancing, tap dancing, they also turn flip-flops and walk on their hands. They do things that no human being will ever believe until he sees it.
As big and as ponderous as he was, Shad Brisbee went into his act by turning three quick back flips.
I'll give Molock credit, he could do tricks I had never guessed he could do. He kept even with Shad. But within thirty minutes he was beginning to pant. Going round the circle, dancing every step of the way, he found wind to yell at Wilkerson, who was peering from the lock.
"Any news ... from that damned Cooper?"
"Operations contacted him ... in a bar!" Wilkerson yelled. "Cooper said you could dance your own way out of this ..."
"The dirty dog!" Molock screamed.