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"Don't let them do anything foolish unless or until it becomes completely sure that I've failed. If I can do anything at all, it should be within a quarter year after I leave, and probably much sooner. If I succeed, you'll all be free, and these men either chased off your planet or killed." "All we understand, An-yon. We know you are true friend, know you want to help us.
An-yon come here just for that, to find out what those bad men do, and to stop them." That speech was another shock to Hanlon he had never told Geck all that. The distant natives finally bowed to Geck's importunings, and gave him the specific information for which he was asking because the friendly human wanted to know it.
"The human An-yon is but one of the most of humans who are kind and just and ethical," he was surprised to hear Geck telepathing when he got so he could understand. "It is the few, such as those others who are here, who are not. These are bad men who come here just to get things for own selfish ends, and the good men, who are most, will stop them as soon as they can.
The minute they had reached the stope he unearthed the machine from its hiding place and got into conversation with the friendly Guddu. "The food stuff?" he asked eagerly. "Is it something you can use?" "Oh, yes. An-yon," Geck almost sputtered in his eagerness, and words tumbled out so swiftly Hanlon could hardly translate them. "It are wonderful! Can you fix so all we can have?"
"Oh, yes, An-yon, me know that already," Geck's peculiar little face, which had become so friendly to Hanlon through long association, broke out into a smile that was quickly shadowed by sorrow at thought of the plight of his people. "There is nine mines. Human masters make Guddu work in all of they." "Nine, eh?" Hanlon thought swiftly for a moment. "Do they all produce the same ores as this one?"
The Guddus on the other end of that "line" were tremendously skeptical, afraid, and very, very suspicious of the motives of any human being. But Geck was eloquent and persuasive. Before long their fears began to lessen, and later they seemed to accept his assurance that "An-yon" was, indeed, both friendly and anxious to help them escape their slavery.
When he did finally manage to grasp the thought-concept, his answer was a decided negative. "No, An-yon, us know nothing about other sun other planet. Before humans come suppose we only intelligent life anywhere. Things you call suns us thought little fires light sky at night. Wonder many night who build. Wonder what is burn where is nothing. Wonder why only one big fire come day.
But it must be wrong. Even the largest Corps' warships were nowhere near that huge. Nor were even any of the biggest freighters he had ever seen. He must be getting his measurements wrong. He called Geck, using the transformer. "Are you seeing what I am in Nock's mind?" "Yes, An-yon, and you is figure right. Is that big." Hanlon slowly shook his head in amazement.
The Greenie in turn tapped Hanlon and said "An-yon," and they had made the first beginnings of understanding each other. From then on this one native was released from all other work while Hanlon's crew was on duty, and the two devoted all their efforts to learning how to talk to each other.
Men would not defy the I-S C and the Federated Planets this way merely for business reasons, he felt sure. There certainly was a plot being hatched and what a plot! He felt Geck's hand on his arm, and heard his voice. "Are two more places where humans build many ship, An-yon. While you think me talk many minds. One place are fourteen more great ones.
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