Lents laughed with genuine amusement.
"Don't be silly, Sine. She's just glad to see us again. Poor kid was lonesome. Come here, Prosie."
She went to him, gravely embraced him; then Kass.
They noticed she was trembling.
"What's the matter?" Kass asked. "You act as if you're glad to see us, but wished we hadn't come."
"Why are you here?" she asked with a troubled frown.
The Earthmen told her of what had transpired—that they were now condemned for life to serve in the dark hemisphere. As they spoke her fears seemed to vanish. She became radiant with delight.
"Then you have come at the right time!" she cried. "Our slavery is at an end, and you shall pilot us back to the Mother planet!"
"You're not crazy, are you kid?" Sine asked, lifting her little pointed chin with his hand.