and fauna,
overlook the most fabulous creation of all--an animal virtually in men's
image? The only guess I could make was that they must belong to a
nomadic tribe small enough to escape discovery.

Benson broke silence as the narrow beach strip began to widen into the
grassy plain where our ship squatted like a hemispherical cathedral.
"This poses so many problems," he said shaking his head.

I said, "Phil, I think you're taking your job too seriously. You just
can't plan every detail of organizing our community down to the
rationing of tooth-powder."

"Planning never hurt any project," Benson said.

"I disagree," I told him. "You've had too long to dwell on your plans.
Now the first unpredictable incident throws you into an uproar. Relax,
Phil. Take your problems one at a time. We don't even know that we'll
ever see the little creatures again. Maybe they're shy."

He scarcely heard me. He was a large, well-muscled man of 46 years, an
ex-college president and an able administrator. He and Jane, his wife,
were the only two of our party older than the 35-year age limit. His
background as a sociologist and anthropologist and his greater maturity
were important factors in stabilizing a new colony, but his point of
view had grown excessively conservative, it seemed to me.

A crew of craftsmen with their busy little power saws had constructed a
sloping ship's ramp of rough planks sawed from the nearest trees. We
stepped through and over the assembled people who were lying around in
the grass at the base of the ramp, and Benson mounted twenty feet above
us at the entrance to the ship.

Everyone was in high spirits, and a light cheer rippled through the
assembly. Benson, however, ignored it and bent a thoroughly serious gaze
out over his "flock".

"Please give me your closest attention," he began and waited until
everyone was quiet. "Until further notice, we must proceed under a
yellow alert during daylight hours and a red alert at night. All work
parties leaving the ship will check with the scribe every hour on the
hour. We will resume sleeping in the ship. Women are restricted to
within 100 yards of the ship at all times. Men will go armed and will
please inform themselves of their position on the security watch list
which will be posted tonight." He squinted in the bright sunlight. "For
the moment, you men with sidearms, post yourselves around the ship.
Sound off loud if you sight anything larger than a rabbit."