Collected Tales by Leslie F. Stone

Author:Leslie F. Stone [Stone, Leslie F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jerry eBooks
Published: 2020-03-13T21:00:00+00:00

MOURA was inviting him into the Yodverl with a wave of his hand. With his lively antenna active, Atun Wei followed him. Nothing he saw seemed to surprise or shock him, but his queer eyes were seen to flick and flash with an inner light as they took in all he saw, without the need of turning the head. Nor did he make any motion at all when Moura introduced him to those gathered in the pilot room.

Elsie immediately found herself hating the creature and wishing that Moura had never found him in the Venerian telescope. Her intuition told her that here was an ambitious, scheming personality that coldly accepted from others all that would aid him in his own selfish motives. This creature knew not the meaning of fellowship or friendship, and would betray either to gain his own ends. There was nothing of the kindlier emotions such as love or pity in his make up and he was one who would gayly profit by these qualities in others.

Nor did Ezra or Nancy like him. Ezra stayed close to his mother whenever the butterfly was about, while Nancy was seen to make several cabalistic motions when she had reason to come near him, believing him some demon out of a voodooish hell, no doubt.

Moura spoke: “Our friend, Atun Wei, has come a long way and he is weary. He also injured a wing on the way. If Urto will bring food, I will in the meantime inspect his wound, then he can be allowed to rest and overcome his fatigue.”

Urto hurried away to seek food while Moura got out salve for the treatment of the wing. Atun Wei stood quietly on his stilt-like legs while he was administered to, and ate the food brought him quickly though daintily, sucking it up through his proboscis with a sibilant sound without leaving a single crumb on the plate, then waited for what was to come next. It was hard for the human beings to accustom themselves to his unchanging expression and never knowing where his eyes were turned. He could take in everything about him without moving his head.

When his needs had been fulfilled, Moura led Atun Wei to one of the sleeping chambers and saw that he was comfortably settled there on the couch before he left him. In lying on the couch, the Dadan merely climbed upon it, doubled his arms and legs beneath him with his wings stretching to the ceiling stiffly upright, and immediately began to nod, while his eyes still stared uncannily. It was hard for Elsie to realize that this creature was anything more than a gigantic butterfly at rest.

Joining the others, Moura set about to tell them something of what he had learned from Atun Wei, for although Ubca, Urto and even Ezra had been able to follow parts of the conversation that had gone on between Moura and the butterfly, they had only grasped a little of it.

Atun Wei, as the creature named

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