"Rene!" I called. He was still looking through Uncle Izzy's ship. "Have you seen an ungainly white bird around?"
"What!" he snapped, sticking an indignant face out of the door.
"I guess you haven't. Can your woodsy lore tell if there are birds on this planet?"
"Obviously," Rene said. "I don't know why you can't find your own spoor. I noticed the droppings immediately."
"Where are the birds?"
"How the hell would I know?" But he couldn't contain his special knowledge. "They're probably night birds," he said.
"Oh, yes." It checked. "Wandering from the Night's Plutonian shore."
He looked at me suspiciously. "You ever had a nervous breakdown?"
"I have not. I test 10:9 on job adjustment and 10:8 on life adjustment."
"Some people crack on alien planets," he said. "I have a padded room in my ship. You'd be surprised how often I have to use it."