There was the outline of a cat carved upon a block of wood...
He heard a footfall and turned.
One of the Redforms moved slowly toward him. It appeared older than theothers. Its shoulders sloped; as it opened its mouth to make a series ofpopping noises, he saw that some of its teeth were missing; its hair wasgrizzled and thin. It bore something in its hands, but Jarry's attention wasdrawn to the hands themselves.
Each hand bore an opposing digit.
He looked about him quickly, studying the hands of the others. All ofthem seemed to have thumbs. He studied their appearance more closely.
They now had foreheads.
He returned his attention to the old Redform.
It placed something at his feet, and then it backed away from him.
He looked down.
A chunk of dried meat and a piece of fruit lay upon a broad leaf.
He picked up the meat, closed his eyes, bit off a piece, chewed andswallowed. He wrapped the rest in the leaf and placed it in the side pocketof his pack.
He extended his hand and the Redform drew back.
He lowered his hand, unrolled the blanket he had carried with him andspread it upon the ground. He seated himself, pointed to the Redform, thenindicated a position across from him at the other end of the blanket.
The creature hesitated, then advanced and seated itself.
"We are going to learn to talk with one another," he said slowly. Thenhe placed his hand upon his breast and said, "Jarry."
Jarry stood before the reawakened executives of December.
"They are intelligent," he told them. "It's all in my report."
"So?" asked Yan Turl.
"I don't think they will be able to adapt. They have come very far,very rapidly. But I don't think they can go much further. I don't think they