the flightless themselves schemed in tight groups , nervous and edgy , peering ceaselessly between webbed feet for any intimation of whiskers and jaws , the birds as yet disagreeing as to the appropriate action , whether that action should include force of arms or simply jet-packs that they might swim , as evolution surely intended , above the sea , catching their food using projectile weapons , a stand the purists insisted ranked them no better than the secreted sea-lions and would ultimately lead to the fish taking retaliatory action .