Wallace glanced at Saxton where he leaned against the spaceship's ramp, the whites of his eyes contrasting sharply with the black of his clean negroid skin. It was clear that he too sensed the odd quality in the other. And that he was equally unable to decide whether the savage that so incuriously regarded first one then the other of them was to be feared, or accepted as amicable. But both already realized that this was no ordinary meeting between humans and an outworld native. They were on the verge of an unusual experience. The savage had been kneeling with his forehead touching the ground when they stepped out of the ship. However, now that he stood before them, there was nothing abject in his demeanor. For a long minute he did not speak or make any motion other than to regard them. Casually then he raised his right hand and touched his chest. "Al-fin," he said. The meaning of the gesture was apparent: Wallace readily understood that the savage was giving his name. He touched his own chest. "Ivan," he murmured. The native turned his gaze to Saxton. "Gus," Saxton said, shifting his feet uncomfortably. The native nodded. "Come!" he commanded. He turned his back and walked away. There was no question in Wallace's mind about obeying. It was only his subconscious that moved his hand, to make certain that his gun was in its holster, and to glance at Saxton to see that he too was armed. He had walked several yards before the incongruity struck him: the savage had spoken Earthian! * * * * * They followed the native for several miles over a faint game trail that wound leisurely through brush and skimpy, small-leaved trees, before either of the men recovered his composure enough to speak. "He said 'Come'," Saxton mused. "Yet we're the first humans this far over the Rim. Where did he learn our language?" Wallace shrugged. "I've been wondering too," he answered. "Should we try to talk to him?" Saxton asked, glancing ahead at their companion. The native, apparently, had no interest in their conversation. "Better wait," Wallace suggested. "I don't understand it." Saxton's tone was querulous. "No one's allowed over the Rim ahead of us. A section has to be surveyed, and worlds declared fit for habitation, before colonists can move in. Yet we land here and find a native speaking our language." "Perhaps he isn't a native," Wallace said. "What do you mean?" "When Earth first discovered spacebridge there were no laws regulating its use. Limits were put on colonizing areas only after some of the earlier expeditions failed to report back. One of them might have been marooned here." "Then this fellow's human?" "He could be." "If he is, would he be naked?" Saxton asked. "Some of those lost expeditions disappeared as long as two thousand years ago," Wallace answered. "A colony could have slipped back a long ways in that time."