Reith and Alicia swam leisurely to a corner of the pool, where they rested their feet on the nether tiles of the tank. The sight of Alicia, rising in pink and golden glory from the rippling water like some goddess of ancient myth, brought the whole heartbreaking tale of their ill-starred romance rushing into Reith's mind. He unexpectedly felt his eyes watering but hoped that any actual tears would be mistaken for drops of pool water. In myths, he vaguely remembered, mortals who mated with goddesses came to sticky ends.
Suddenly Reith caught sight of a tiny metallic gleam against Alicia's ivory skin, which had before been hidden by suds. Suspended on a slender chain, a simple ring of gold reposed between her breasts. As Reith bent forward to scrutinize the ring, Alicia flinched back; then she quietly submitted to his inspection.
"What's this?" said Reith, turning the ring. "Without my glasses I can't read the initials; but it sure looks like—"
"Same old ring," said Alicia. "I ought to have left it in the innkeeper's strongbox. But when I thought of it, we were here, and I don't trust these lockers."
"You've kept our ring all these years?"
"Not so many for me, remember."
"But—uh—why ..."
"Oh, I'm just a sentimental idiot. We did have some good times together, didn't we?" She sharply changed the subject. "Let's swim some more!"
Next to Ordway, a Krishnan said: "You Earsman is?"
"Yes, old boy, I am."
The Krishnan puzzled over this. "I sa-tudy ze English. I sink 'boy' mean young he-Earsman. How can 'boy' old be?"
"Just a manner of speaking," grunted Ordway.
" 'Manner' mean 'polite,' yes?"
"I suppose so," said Ordway, looking around for Reith. But Reith and Alicia were standing at the for end of the tank, talking in low tones. The Krishnan persisted: "Zen you say 'old boy' to be polite, yes?"
"Look here, my friend—"
"Look where? Look at you? And is you friend?"
"I'm trying to tell you, I don't speak your bloody language."
After a few seconds of silence, the Krishnan said: " 'Bloody' mean has blood on, yes? How can words—"
"Oh, God!" breathed Ordway. "Let me relax and enjoy my bath, will you like a good chap?"
"Chap. 'Chap' mean part of face, no? Zen how—"
"I don't know, Goddamn it! Will you please for sweet Jesus's sake shut your face and leave me alone?"
"Jesus not my god is, and you cannot alone in a crowd be." After more silence, the Krishnan pointed to White. "Ozzer Earsman zere. Why him have shit all over?"
"Now see here, I don't let no bloody greenie insult an associate of mine! You natives are getting too much cheek—"
" 'Cheek' mean same as 'chap,' yes?"
"Shut up!" screamed Ordway. Putting his pudgy hands against the Krishnan's bony chest, he shoved. The Krishnan fell backwards; all but the ends of his olfactory antennae disappeared beneath the ripples.
The Krishnan reappeared, sputtering: "Hishkako baghan!" Then he shot out long arms and seized Ordway's throat. Other bathers crowded round. Some yelled advice and encouragement; others offered bets. A female shrieked: "Out with these filthy aliens! These vile barbarians trample the rights of us human beings!"
Attendants scrambled into the pool, pushed through the crowd, and laid hands on the struggling pair; but they did not succeed in separating the combatants until Reith hooked an arm around Ordway's thick neck and began to strangle him.
"G-Goddamn you, Reith," guggled Ordway, "letting these wogs call us full of shit! I'm not afraid of—"
"He meant Jack's sheet, you ass!" said Reith. "The two of you, come on out. It's time for the warm pool before you get us into further trouble." Reith turned to the assaulted Krishnan and spoke a few private words.
"Nay," growled the Krishnan in his own language. "I crave no legal contentions with Terrans; ye are too clever for us honest human beings. Take your unmannerly aliens away."
The next pool was larger, less crowded, and filled with lukewarm water. Reith and Alicia swam slowly side by side around the perimeter. Ordway floated, his belly making a red-furred dome above the surface. White stood looking unhappy. Reith murmured to Alicia: "Tell me, what flat rock did you find Cyril under? If that one-man pestilence goes around making bigoted remarks and picking fights, he'll get his throat cut and ours, too."
"Cyril's strange," she replied. "Most of the time he presents the persona of a competent, self-controlled English executive. But get a few drinks into him, and he turns into an East End larrikin. Every few weeks or months he goes on a tear."
"Has he been—uh—troublesome in other ways?" asked Reith diffidently.
"You mean, has he propositioned me? Oh, sure. He pestered me the whole time on the Pará, stalking me like a lion after a wart hog—"
Reith chortled. "The prettiest woman on Krishna, calling herself a wart hog? Ha!"
"Who, me—a beat-up, washed-out divorcee, past her first youth? I like praise from you, Fergus; but I don't take such flatteries—"
"Okay, okay," Reith laughed. "But you can't deny that, as wart hogs go, you're the prettiest one in captivity. I'll call you 'Wart Hog' just to remind you. But go on about Ordway on the Pará."
"After I used a judo trip on him and he bumped his head on the deck, he kept his hands, at least, to himself."
Reith felt a visceral stir of jealous anger. He told himself not to be silly; it was no business of his if a former wife, whom he had not seen in eighteen Krishnan years, accepted or rejected another's advances. He asked: "If he's such a blug, how did he get an important job with a big, rich company?"
"He's not a boor all the time; and he's really expert at his job. He can carry an amazing lot of details in his head and fit them together like a jigsaw puzzle. And if you think Cyril's a character, you ought to see some of the others in the movie business! They remind you of the nameless creeping things you see in a drop of swamp water under the microscope."
"How about White?"
"Jack's only known vice is gambling. He's a bit of a twerp but otherwise not a bad sort. Speaking of whom, the poor squit just stands there looking miserable. Let's see if we can ginger him up."
As they beckoned White to join them, he mumbled: "I'm sorry, but I don't know how to swim."
"I'll teach you!" said Alicia brightly. "First lesson: lie back with your arms raised above your head. Don't be afraid; I won't duck you."
While Alicia bullied the reluctant White into his first swimming lesson, Reith continued his swim. After another lap, he noticed that Ordway now stood in waist-deep water very close to a Krishnan female. Reith heard the woman coo: "... oh, I loov ze Terrans. I weesh I could know one ca-lose—you know, antim— in tarn—"
"Intimately?" prompted Ordway.
"Zat iss it, antameetly—Aiee!" Her words ended in a shriek.
A large Krishnan came plowing through the water towards the pair. Reith was awakened from his blissful lethargy just as Ordway scrambled out of the pool, followed by the formidable Krishnan roaring threats. Ordway began to run around the pool; the Krishnan ran after him, reaching with hooked fingers.
The two had completed their first lap when they plowed into a knot of newcomers. Feet slipped on the smooth, wet flagstones; naked bodies went sprawling. A couple made a resounding splash as they struck the water.
Reith thrust himself between Ordway and his pursuer, who howled: "Beshrew me an I slay not this unspeakable mass of ordure!"
"Easy, easy," soothed Reith. "What has Master Ordway done?"
"He hath grossly insulted my wife!"
"How?"
"She engaged him in converse, meaning but to practice her English and thus to amplify friendly intercourse betwixt our far-flung worlds. This zeft laid lustful hands upon her blameless person!"