Ian nodded and crept along the passage, pausing every time there was a bend, in case whatever was up ahead was round the next bend. When he reached the gamblers and found they hadn't seen him he stopped to look around. He might be able to sneak past them, but the other two wouldn't. And besides, he couldn't be sure the gates would be soundless.

He returned to the other two to tell them what he'd seen. "They're intelligent," he concluded, "but I can't tell whether they're friend or foe." They might well decide anyone alien was an enemy.