He followed Lodar along the central corridor to the mid-section well, and down to the lower deck. The surging hum of the converters wafted on the warm air as they passed the engine room.
In the after hold Jenkins and his Number Two Gang were bracing a large metal cage. Entering behind Lodar, Ray stared with mingled feelings at the captives behind the bars.
"Why, they look like humans!" he gasped. No wonder so many people objected to the trade!
They were slightly smaller than humans, with paler skin, and their hair was blond, almost ashen. They regarded their captors with large blue eyes, but the rustling of grass and skins in which they were dressed was the only sound they made.
"Like our earliest type of man, perhaps," Lodar admitted. "But of a different evolution. No vocal cords."
"Just dummies." Jenkins spoke up from behind Ray.
"That's a lie!" The indignant voice was a woman's.
