He was impressed.
Mark was looking at the books on the other wall. Basic Watercolor, he
read. The Stories of Edgar Allen Poe was next to The Life of Johann
Sebastian Bach. Mark whistled. "Not what I expected, Mr. Vly," he said.
"Not at all what I expected."
"Uh huh," murmured Montezuma Vly. "Let's get down to business. Follow
me." He squeezed past Zip in the crowded little workplace, passed
through a narrow door on the other side of the room, and through a
passageway. The Starmen followed.
A small furry shape leaped through the air in front of Joe. "Ack!"
exclaimed the lanky Starman, stumbling backward, knocking over a couple
of small boxes as his arms flailed. Nuts and bolts scattered on the
floor. Joe backed into another box and sat down hard on it.
"What-?" exclaimed Vly, turning.
"What was that?" cried Joe. "Something jumped across the corridor. I
think it went into this recess here." He pointed to an opening between
a few stacked boxes.
"One of my koalangs," answered Montezuma. "I've got four of them here.
There are a few more in the living quarters. Good company. They can
startle you, though, and they can make an awful mess. More than once
I've threatened to make stew out of 'em and eat 'em for dinner." The
Starmen looked at one another, wondering if he was joking.
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