And there were smaller tracks he could not identify. All were
inspected carefully, but none of them appeared to be what his
companions sought.
They trotted up and down along the river bank, and from what he had
already observed concerning the aliens, Raf thought that the leader,
at least, was showing exasperation and irritation. They expected to
find something--it was not there--but it had to be! And they were fast
reaching the point where they wanted to produce it themselves to
justify the time spent in hunting for it.
Ruthlessly they rayed to death any creature their dragnet drove into
the open, leaving feebly kicking bodies of the furry, long-legged
beasts Raf had first seen after the landing of the spacer. He could
not understand the reason for such wholesale extermination, since
certainly the rabbitlike rodents were harmless.
In the end they gave up their quest and circled back to come out near
the field where the flitter and the globe rested. When the Terran
flyer came into sight, Raf left the party and hurried toward it.
Soriki waved a welcoming hand.
"'Bout time one of you showed up.
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