There was silence after the first
burst. Then a frightful howling arose.
"Luis, you imbecile!" Meillard was shouting.
Gofredo jumped onto the top of an airjeep, where they could all
see him; drawing his pistol, he fired twice into the air.
"Be quiet, all of you!" he shouted, as though that would do any good.
It did. Silence fell, bounced noisily, and then settled over the
crowd. Gofredo went on talking to them: "Take it easy, now; easy."
He might have been speaking to a frightened dog or a fractious
horse. "Nobody's going to hurt you. This is nothing but the great
noise-magic of the Terrans...."
"Get the presents unloaded," Meillard was saying. "Make a big show
of it. The table first."
The horn, which had started, stopped blowing. As they were getting
off the long table and piling it with trade goods, another lorry
came in, disgorging twenty Marine riflemen. They had their bayonets
fixed; the natives looked apprehensively at the bare steel, but
went on listening to Gofredo. Meillard pulled the (Lord Mayor?
Archbishop? Lord of the Manor?) aside, and began making sign-talk
to him.
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