Legwork
by Eric Frank Russell
Astounding Science Fiction (April 1956); reprinted Vol. XII, No. 9 (British Edition, September 1956), 49-86.
Published soon after Russell’s classic novel ‘Three to Conquer’, this SF invasion novelette upends the scenario by pitting everyday human grunts against what should be an all-powerful alien telepath. Russell’s distinctive prose ensures that, 70 years on, readers are still carried along.