a sober wink from the side.

"That's a dirty trick she's played on you, Miss Telzey!" he murmured.
"I tried to warn you."

"I know." Telzey took a deep breath. "Look, Delquos, in just a minute
something's going to happen! It'll look dangerous, but it won't be.
Don't let it get you nervous ... right?"

"Huh?" Delquos appeared startled, but kept his voice low. "Just
_what's_ going to happen?"

"No time to tell you. Remember what I said."

* * * * *

Telzey moved back a few steps from the driver's seat, turned around,
said unsteadily, "Halet ... Dr. Droon--"

Halet had been speaking quietly to Dr. Droon; they both looked up.

"If you don't move, and don't do anything stupid," Telzey said
rapidly, "you won't get hurt. If you do ... well, I don't know! You
see, there's another crest cat in the car...." In her mind she added,
"Now!"

It was impossible to tell in just what section of the car Iron
Thoughts had been lurking. The carpeting near the rear passenger seats
seemed to blur for an instant. Then he was there, camouflage dropped,
sitting on the floorboards five feet from the naturalist and Halet.

Halet's mouth opened wide; she tried to scream but fainted instead.
Dr. Droon's right hand started out quickly towards the big stungun
device beside his seat. Then he checked himself and sat still,
ashen-faced.

Telzey didn't blame him for changing his mind. She felt he must be a
remarkably brave man to have moved at all. Iron Thoughts, twice as
broad across the back as Tick-Tock, twice as massively muscled, looked
like a devil-beast even to her. His dark-green marbled hide was
criss-crossed with old scar patterns; half his tossing crimson crest
appeared to have been ripped away. He reached out now in a fluid,
silent motion, hooked a paw under the stungun and flicked upwards. The
big instrument rose in an incredibly swift, steep arc eighty feet
into the air, various parts flying away from it, before it started
curving down towards the treetops below the car. Iron Thoughts lazily
swung his head around and looked at Telzey with yellow fire-eyes.

"Miss Telzey! Miss Telzey!" Delquos was muttering behind her. "You're
_sure_ it won't...."

Telzey swallowed. At the moment, she felt barely mouse-sized again.
"Just relax!" she told Delquos in a shaky voice. "He's really quite
t-t-t-tame."

Iron Thoughts produced a harsh but not unamiable chuckle in her mind.

* * *