"Could we trrrouble you to sssshow us your paperrrssss?" "Certainly." Nonchalantly, the fat man dug them out and handed them over. Bart saw his father's name printed across the top. The Lhari gestured to a Mentorian interpreter: "What colorrr isss thisss man's hairrr?" The Mentorian said in the Lhari language, "His hair is gray."
He used the Universal word; there were, of course, no words for colors in the Lhari speech. "The man we sssseek has hair of red," said the Lhari. "And he isss tall, not fat." "The boy is tall and with red hair," the Mentorian volunteered, and the old Lhari made a gesture of disdain. "This boy is twenty years younger than the man whose description came to us.
He watched the two Lhari riffle through his papers with their odd pointed claws. "What isss your planet?" Bart bit his lip, hard he had almost said, "Vega Four." "Aldebaran Four." The Lhari said in his own language, "We should have Margil in here. He actually saw them." The other replied, "But I saw the machine that disintegrated. I still say there was enough protoplasm residue for two bodies."
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