Illustrated by Kramer
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1945.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Sandra Drake sat in her perfect apartment on Telfu, and cursed in anunladylike manner. She was plying a needle with some difficulty, andthe results of her work were decidedly amateurish. But her clothingwas slowly going to pieces, and there was not a good tailor in ninelight-years of Sandra Drake.
The Telfan tailors didn't understand Solarian tailoring; Sandra wasforced to admit that they were good—for Telfans. But for Solarians,they didn't come up to the accepted standards.
They had tried, she gave them credit for that. But the Telfan figuredid not match the Solarian, especially the four-breasted female Telfanwoman did not match Sandra's thin-waisted, high breasted figure. Hertotal lack of the Telfan skin; part feathers, part hair, but actuallyclassifiable as neither, caused a different "hang" to the clothing.Telfans wore practically nothing because of the pelt and thoughSandra's figure was one of those that should have been adorned inpractically nothing, Telfu was not sufficiently warm to go runningaround in a sunsuit.
And making over Telfan clothing to fit her was out of the question. Shestood half a head above their tallest women, and the only clothing thatwould have fit was clothing made in outsizes for extremely huge Telfanwomen. Needless to say this size of garment was shapeless.
Sandra finished her mending, tried on the garment and made a wry face."I used to curse the lack of humans here," she told her image in themirror, "but now I'm glad I'm the only one. I'd sure hate to have anyof my old friends see me looking like this."
The image that repeated silently was not too far a cry from the SandraDrake that had called the Haywire Queen in for a landing on Telfusome months ago. But they hadn't waited, and she now knew why. Well,she was forced to admit that her try at either trapping them here orgetting off with them had failed, and therefore she had been outguessed.
That made her burn. Being outguessed by a man was something that Sandradidn't care to have happen. She could live through it; but it was theaftermath that really hurt. The Telfans came to understand her too wellafter that incident. They no longer looked upon her as a leading figurein her system. They knew that her knowledge of Solarian science wassketchy and incomplete. Therefore she had lost her hold upon Telfu,and was now forced to do her own mending.
On the other hand, Sandra Drake was an intelligent woman. Her contemptfor the Telfan language was gone. It went on that memorable day whenshe discovered that everyone who understood any Terran had gone togreet the landing Haywire Queen and had left her unable to convey herdesires. From that time on, Sandra plied herself and was quite capableof conversing in Telfan, and fluently.
So Sandra Drake had been living with the Telfans for several months.She had been forced to live with her wits and her mind and she foundit interesting. Telfans were quite cold to her charms, which made herangry at times; on Terra she was used to admiration from anythingmasculine from fourteen to ninety-eight. Below fourteen they didn'tknow any better and over ninety-eight they didn't care, but the yearsbetween were aware of Sandra Drake. On Telfu, posturing, posing, andoffering had no effect. They looked upon her as an encyclopedia; ananimate phonograph, which, upon proper stimulation, could be made tosound interesting.
They had their machinery of action, too. Either Sand