"What did you think at that poor little creature!" Mrs. Bernardi blazed. "He's crying!" And, sure enough, amethyst tears were oozing out of the young saurian's large, liquid eyes. _I du-didn't mean any harm._ "Monster!" Mrs. Bernardi accused Jrann-Pttt. "All men are monsters, whether they're aliens or not." "You're so right, Louisa!" Miss Anspacher exclaimed, regarding the younger creature in an almost kindly manner. _I'm sorry, r-Lll_, Jrann-Pttt apologized. _I was upset by that noise, too. How could you possibly know what it was? Come, let me introduce you to the creatures._ Dfar-Lll stepped forward diffidently. Jrann-Pttt put a hand on the moss-green shoulder. "Allow me to introduce my companion, Dfar-Lll," he said aloud. The youngster looked at him. Mrs. Bernardi thrust out her hand. "I'm very glad to meet you, Lil." _Agitate it with one of yours. It's a courtesy. Don't let her see how repulsive she is to you. Remember, you're just as repulsive to her._ Dfar-Lll offered a shy, seven-fingered hand. "Pleased ... to meet you ... ma'am," the young lizard squeaked. "Why, he's just a baby, isn't he?" Mrs. Bernardi asked. _I am not a baby!_ Dfar-Lll thought indignantly. _At the end of this year, I shall celebrate my pre-maturity feast, or I would have. And furthermore--_ There was another thunderous blast of sound. After the ground had stopped trembling, the six found themselves ankle-deep in muddy water. Algol, who was in considerably deeper than his ankles, mewed fretfully. Mrs. Bernardi picked him up and comforted him. "Perhaps blasting wasn't such a good idea," the professor muttered. "Maybe I should tell Greenfield to call a halt and we'll take our chances with the storm. As a matter of fa--" "The ship!" Mortland cried. "It _is_ sinking!" And the big metal ball slowly but visibly was indeed subsiding into the mud. "Stop it, somebody!" Miss Anspacher snapped in her customary schoolroom manner. The professor was pale, but he held on to his calm. "What can we do? Even if we could get the captain back in time, there's no way we can stop it. It's too heavy to pull out manually, and the engines, of course, are inside." As they watched in horror, the ship sank deeper and deeper, picking up momentum as more of it went under. With a loud, sucking sound, it vanished into the ooze. Muddy water gurgled over it and, where the ship had been, there was now a small lake. "This could be the beginning of a legend," Miss Anspacher murmured. "Or the end." There was another vibrant detonation. "Someone ought to go tell the captain there's no use blasting any more," Bernardi said wearily. "We have nothing to put on the rock when he smooths it off." He began to laugh. "I suppose you could call this poetic justice." And he went on laughing, losing a bit of his former self-control. _There goes Plan B_, Jrann-Pttt thought.