In the wall near him there was one of the pieces of glass. Abashed by
the dozens of staring eyes, he looked through this, and saw a broad
field, its soil turned up in long, straight rows--evidently for
planting. Near the center of the field were two creatures, which
immediately commanded his attention.
They were not alike. One was similar to those he had already seen, but
the other was even larger and of a different shape. Four legs carried
the great, bulky body, which rested in a horizontal position, as did the
thick neck and long, tapering head. It was dragging the tool which
turned up the furrows of soil, while the other followed behind,
governing its directions.
Clearly, he thought, there were many types of creatures on Toon. He
would have to try to understand their relations to one another....
Inside the room there was much noise, and the air was hot, damp, and
very unpleasant to breathe. He was not afraid of the creatures now; and
instinctively he realized that it was curiosity that brought them here,
and that they meant him no harm. A few were trying to speak to him,
looking directly into his eyes and making monosyllabic sounds. This
amused him at first. They would not be quite so hopeful if they
understood from where he had come.
But in another moment his amusement had vanished. One of the creatures,
standing near, placed a finger close to where he sat, at the same time
uttering a short disyllabic sound:
"Table!"
A thrill shot through him. He had expected no such intelligence on the
part of his captors. A new wave of hope surged up within him....
Carefully, he repeated the gesture and the word.
* * * * *
His action was followed by a burst of excited conversation in the room.
Several made sharp, guttural noises which he guessed meant gratification
or amusement.
Immediately a number of them took up the game; and he eagerly did his
part, repeating the sounds they made and identifying them with objects.
With every possible gesture he tried to indicate to them his pleasure
and gratification.
He was sorry when they began to go away.
It had been getting steadily darker for some time, when, suddenly, the
room was brilliantly illuminated; and, looking quickly around, he saw a
number of bright globes. This event brought him to a high pitch of
elation. The character of the vehicle in which he had ridden had made
him fear that they knew nothing of electricity, but here was tangible
evidence that they did. His dream of a return to Loten seemed less like
a wild imagining at every moment.
He was beginning to think of these creatures as people, almost human
beings.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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