“Worse than a Green One,” agreed the second of the hairless ones. “We’d better get back into the ship.”
They were a little slow about that, Karn thought. In the underbrush close by he had heard the movements of a heavy body. A saber-tooth had no need for stealth. And it was coming their way.
“He’s trying to tell us something,” the woman was saying. “He may be trying to warn us. Turn off those rays.”
The men hesitated. Then their fingers moved slightly and Karn was free to move.
But now there was no time for warnings. Karn gestured over his shoulder and started for the opening in the huge ball. He sensed that safety lay inside. Behind him a huge cat snarled.
The hairless ones hesitated no longer. Leaving the woman to her own devices they dashed for the ship. She turned to run, tripped and fell. Karn scooped her up as he ran.
Almost together, the four reached the ship. The smell of the saber-tooth was strong in Karn’s nostrils; he could almost feel its breath on his neck as he dashed up a ramp.
One of the men was fumbling with a lever. The ramp swung up; the opening in the ship’s side vanished. Against the gray-green wall the tiger’s body thudded.
That danger now behind them, the two men were pointing their sticks at Karn again. But this time the