And Then the Town Took Off Part 18

"Hector was very co-operative," Doc Bendy said. "I guess he figured he couldn't keep it a secret for long anyhow, so he decided to be frank.

After all, half the town saw them take him away."

"You mean Civek admits he's only a figurehead?" Don asked.

"Oh, he wouldn't admit that. His story is that it's a working arrangement--a treaty of sorts. He's absolute monarch as far as the human inhabitants are concerned, but the kangaroos control Superior as a piece of geography."

"I knew Father couldn't have done it," Alis murmured.

They went down a flight of stairs off the main hall to a bas.e.m.e.nt room.

It was luxuriously furnished, as every room in the mansion must have been. There was a rug over inlaid linoleum and a blazing fireplace. A huge round mahogany table stood in the center of the room.

Hector Civek sat in one of the half-dozen leather armchairs drawn up to the table. In another sat a furry, genial-looking blue-gray kangaroo.

Only it wasn't really a kangaroo, Don realized. It was more human than animal in several ways. Its bearing, for instance, had dignity, and its round eyes had intelligence. A thick tail at least three feet long stuck through a s.p.a.ce under the backrest of the armchair. As Doc Bendy had said, the tail was magnificent.

Civek nodded and smiled, apparently willing to forget his flare-up at Alis. "I'll introduce you," Civek said. "I mean _we'll_ introduce you.

Oh, the h.e.l.l with the royal 'we,' as long I'm among friends. This is Gizl, and what I'm trying to say is that he doesn't speak English.

Doesn't talk at all, as far as I can tell. But he understands the language and he can read and write it. That's why all this."

He indicated the letter and number squares on the table. They were from sets of games--Scrabble, Anagrams, I-Qubes, Lotto and poker dice.

"My granddaughter met Gizl, you'll recall," Doc Bendy said. "Either this one or one like him. We don't know yet whether Gizl is a personal name or a generic one."

"Let's find out," Don said. He sat down at the table and began to form squares into a question.

"Wait a minute." Doc Bendy broke up Don's sequence. "The amenities first. Spell out 'Greetings,' or some such things. Manners, boy."

"Sorry." Don started over. He spelled GREETINGS, then ALIS GARET, then DON CORT, and pointed from the squares to Alis and himself. "I a.s.sume you've already introduced yourself?" he asked Bendy.

Bendy nodded and the kangaroo-like creature inclined his furry head in acknowledgment to Alis and Don. Then he--Don had already stopped thinking of the creature as an "it"--formed two words with his tapering, black-nailed fingers.

PLEASANT, he communicated. "GIZL." And he tapped his chest.

Don turned to Bendy. "Now can I ask him?"

"With His Majesty's permission," Bendy said solemnly.

Hector nodded. Don left the three names intact, distributing the rest, then put three squares together to spell _Man_. He pointed to the word and then to Civek, Bendy, Alis and himself, excluding the creature.

"Well, I like that!" Alis said. "Do I look like a man?"

"Let's keep it simple, woman," Don said.

The creature nodded and pointed again to GIZL, then to himself, "He doesn't understand," Don said.

"It's quite possible his people don't have individual names," Bendy said. "Let's call him Gizl for now and go on."

"Okay." Don thought for a moment, then formed a question. "Might as well get basic," he said.

Q. ARE YOU FROM EARTH.

A. NO.

At the risk of irritating the others, Don repeated the questions and answers aloud for the benefit of his eavesdropper in the Pentagon.

Q. ARE YOU FROM SOLAR SYSTEM

A. NOT YOURS

Q. WHEN DID YOU REACH EARTH

A. 1948 YOUR CALENDAR

Q. WHY

A. FRIENDs.h.i.+P

Q. WHY HAS NO ONE SEEN YOU SOONER

A. FEAR

Q. YOU MEAN YOU FRIGHTENED OUR PEOPLE

A. NO I MEAN FEAR OF YOUR PEOPLE

Q. WHY

A. GIZL RESEMBLE EARTH ANIMALS

Q. WAS SUPERIOR THE FIRST PLACE YOU LANDED

A. NO

Q. WHERE WAS IT

A. AUSTRALIA

"The home of the kangaroo," Doc Bendy said. "No wonder they had a bad time. I can imagine some stockman in the outback taking umbrage at a kangaroo a.s.serting its equality. Let me talk to him a while, Don."

Q. HOW MANY ARE THERE OF YOU

A. MANY

Q. HOW MANY

A. NO SPECIFIC COMMENT

Q. ARE YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR RAISING SUPERIOR