tand, somehow, that he comprehended her plight. Then,
after a time, he put his left arm about her waist. She spread the great
red wings out behind him, the right one passing over his shoulder; and in
this fashion they went forward more easily.

The girl kept constantly talking and gesturing. She seemed remarkably
intelligent; and even then, at the very beginning of their
acquaintanceship, she made Alan understand that she intended to learn his
language. Indeed, she seemed concerned about little else; and she went
about her task systematically and with an ability that amazed him.

As they walked forward she kept continually stooping to touch objects on
the ground--a stick, a handful of sand, a woodland flower, or a palmetto
leaf. Or, again, she would indicate articles of his clothing, or his
features. In each case Alan gave her the English word; and in each case
she repeated it after him.

Once she stopped stock still, and with astonishing rapidity and accuracy
rattled off the whole list--some fifteen or twenty words
altogether--pointing out each object as she enunciated the word.

Alan understood then--and he found out afterward it was the case--that the
girl's memory was extraordinarily retentive, far more retentive than is
the case with any normal earth person. He discovered also, a little later,
that her intuitive sense was highly developed. She seemed, in many
instances, to divine his meaning, quite apart from his words or the
gestures--which often were unintelligible to her--with which he
accompanied them.

After a time they reached the Mercutian vehicle. It was a cubical box,
with a pyramid-shaped top, some thirty feet square at the base, and
evidently constructed of metal, a gleaming white nearer like silver than
anything else Alan could think of. He saw that it had a door on the side
facing him, and several little slitlike windows, covered by a thick,
transparent substance which might have been glass.

As they got up close to it Alan expected the girl's companions to come
out. His heart beat faster. Suddenly he raised his voice and shouted:
"Hello, inside!"

The girl looked startled. Then she smiled and made the negative gesture
with her hand.

Alan understood then that she was alone. They went inside the vehicle. It
was dark in there. Alan could make out little, but after a moment his eyes
grew accustomed to the darkness.

He noticed first that the thing was very solidly constructed. He expected
to s