ontinuing.

That was worrying him. Maybe he wasn't used to planets where the
biochemistry wasn't Terra-type and a Terran would be poisoned or, at
best, starve to death, on the local food; maybe, as a soldier he knew
how fragile even the best logistics system can be. It was something to
worry about. Travis excused himself and went off in the direction of the
bridge. Going to call HQ and find out what was happening.

Excitement among the shoonoon; they had spotted the ship on which they
were riding in the westward screen. They watched it until it had
vanished from "sight of the seeing-oomphel," and by then were over the
upland forests from whence they had been brought to Bluelake. Now and
then one of them would identify his own village, and that would start
more excitement.

Three infantry troop-carriers and a squadron of air cavalry were rushing
past the eastward pickup in the right hand screen; another fire had
started in the trouble area.

The crowd that had gathered around the globe that had been brought
aboard began calling for Mailsh Heelbare to show them how they would go
around the world and what countries they would pass over. Edith
accompanied him and listened while he talked to them. She was bubbling
with happy excitement, now. It had just dawned on her that shoonoon were
fun.

None of them had ever seen the mountains along the western side of the
continent except from a great distance. Now they were passing over them;
the ship had to gain altitude and even then make a detour around one
snow-capped peak. The whole hundred and eighty-four rushed to the
starboard side to watch it as they passed. The ocean, half an hour
later, started a rush forward. The score or so of them from the
Tidewater knew what an ocean was, but none of them had known that there
was another one to the west. Miles' view of the education program of the
EETA, never bright at best, became even dimmer. _The young men who have
gone to the Terran schools ... who listens to them? They are fools._

There were a few islands off the coast; the shoonoon identified them on
the screen globe, and on the one on deck. Some of them wanted to know
why there wasn't a spot of light on this globe, too. It didn't have the
oomphel inside to do that; that was a satisfactory explanation. Edith
started to explain about the orbital beacon-stations off-planet and the
radio beams, and then stopped.

"I'm sorry; I'm not supposed to say anything to them," she a