"That's it, Derla! Either they are coming down, or--or--" "Kuru! They want us to come up!" The two of them stood there in the small clearing, looking at the vertical shiny-fence that had come down to them from the great ledge where the man-gods stood, up at the top of their sky-cave. Again, Kuru's great muscles twitched with the instinct to run. Had he been alone, he might have done so. But in the eyes of his brave sister he could not do this, even though it might cost him his life. Still, the god-men looked very friendly. They were beckoning to him to come up. Gritting his teeth and emitting a low growl to give himself courage, Kuru threw the horny-head beast across his shoulder and approached the shiny-fence. "You stay here," he told his sister. "No, Kuru! I will come behind you, no matter what happens!" He shrugged, ashamed of his own fear in the presence of her surprising courage. He grabbed cross-pieces of the shiny-fence and began to climb, knowing that Derla was close at his heels. The great, smooth ledge with the shiny-fence around it was larger than he had expected. A group of twelve man-gods stood there, waiting for him. None of them, he noticed carefully, had a lightning stick in his hand, although at least five of them carried the terrible weapons at their sides. After pausing once to make sure that he was not to be attacked, Kuru climbed up onto the ledge and threw his sacrifice down. Then he turned to help Derla up. The two of them stood facing the people from the sky. Finally, Kuru said to them, "We bring you sacrifice and make peace. The gods are welcome to this land." Derla tugged at his arm. "We should bow down," she advised. Brother and sister fell to their knees, with bowed heads. * * * * * "That ought to make a good picture for you, Henderson. They're eating out of our hand already!" "Here, fellow, get to your feet. You too, black eyes!" "Don't forget the sacrifice. Better accept it so's they won't be offended. Besides, maybe it's edible. We could do with some fresh meat--maybe." "Maybe is right. I don't think my system could get used to real steaks again. That looks like some sort of goat. May be just like mutton." "Hey Frank! That cave girl sure goes for you! Look at her take you in with those big eyes!" "Guess that's because Frank's more their size. Open your shirt a little more, Frankie old boy. Show 'em the hair on your chest!" "Shut up, you guys. Do you realize what this means?" "Yeah. Love at first sight!" "Men! Pipe down. Whether you like it or not, this is quite a historical moment. Now the first problem is one of communication and contact with the rest of their people." "We could get out the flier and take them home." "That's right. We'll do that when we've tried talking to them and taken some more pictures and recordings. What do you make of that fellow's language, Ken?"