“Oh,” she whispered suddenly, “I am afraid of this place!”
Kirby took her hand.
“I know. Maybe it is the sensation of all the legions of the apes herded together so silently in their village. I wish we knew what to expect from them. I wish—”
But he broke off, and called softly to Nini on the limb above. She looked down with a drawn expression about her mouth.
“Are you all right?” Kirby whispered.
“Yes. But—Well, are both of you all right? Gori says we have reached here in time, but I—” A gasp of uneasiness escaped her, and Kirby heard Ivana echo it. “There is something about that black, silent hole out there in the clearing, and about those poles sticking up like fangs, that makes me terribly, terribly afraid. Oh, what are they planning? Where is Naida? What are they going to do to her?”
Kirby whistled in a low key. He had not thought about the black hole in the clearing.
“Hum,” he muttered, “that’s interesting. Ivana, Nini, what do you suppose—”