olling together
playfully in the soft grasses at the forest's edge. Even at this
distance they were visibly male and female.

"I can't make them out," I said. My only thought was that one of the
young couples had swum down ahead of us and was enjoying the first
privacy attainable in two years.

Benson's eyes were sharper. "Sam, they--they look like--"

Our voices must have reached them, for they sprang apart and rose to
their feet facing us.

"Like youngsters," I supplied.

"We have no kids with us," Benson reminded me. He began to move forward,
slowly, as though stalking a wild animal.

"Wait, Phil," I said. "The planet is uninhabited. They can't be--"

He continued shuffling ahead, and I followed. Within 20 paces I knew he
was right. Whoever they were they hadn't come with us!

Benson stopped so quickly I bumped into him. "Look, Sam! Their hands and
feet! Four digits and--no thumbs!"

I could now make out the details. The two forms were not quite human.
The toes were long and prehensile. The fingers, too, were exceptionally
long, appearing to have an extra joint, but as Benson mentioned, there
was no opposing thumb.

They stood well apart now, the female seeking no protection from the
male. Curiosity was written in their faces, and when we stopped
advancing they began edging forward until they were only five yards
away.

Their outlines, instead of becoming clearer, had fuzzed up more as they
approached. Now it was evident that their bodies were lightly covered
with a silky hair, some two or three inches long. It had already dried
out in the warm sun and was standing out away from their skins like
golden haloes.

They stood well under five feet tall, and in every detail, except the
body hair and digits, appeared to be miniature adults, complete with
navels.

Even in the midst of the shock of surprise, I was taken by their
remarkable beauty. "They're true mammals!" I exclaimed.

"Without a doubt," Benson said, eyeing the full contours of the lithe
little female. Her pink flesh tones were a full shade lighter than those
of the male. Both had well-spaced eyes under broad foreheads. Their fine
features were drawn into fearless, half-quizzical, half-good-natured
expressions of deep interest. They stood relaxed as if waiting for a
parley to begin.

"This," said Benson, "is one hell of a note!"

They cocked their heads at the sound like robins. I said, "Why? They
don't appear very vicious to me."

"Nei