He paused. "Yes?" I said, though I knew what was coming.

We might attempt once more to establish some sort of understanding with

the minds of the people in the moon."

So far as I'm concerned--it's the first."

I doubt."

I don't."

You see," said Cavor, "I do not think we can judge the Selenites by what

we have seen of them. Their central world, their civilised world will be

far below in the profounder caverns about their sea. This region of the

crust in which we are is an outlying district, a pastoral region. At any

rate, that is my interpretation. These Selenites we have seen may be only

the equivalent of cowboys and engine-tenders. Their use of goads--in all

probability mooncalf goads--the lack of imagination they show in expecting

us to be able to do just what they can do, their indisputable brutality,

all seem to point to something of that sort. But if we endured--"

"Neither of us could endure a six-inch plank across the bottomless pit for

very long."

"No," said Cavor; "but then--"

168

The First Men In The Moon