"Anderson, Poul - For Love and Glory" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anderson Poul)

УAll right, if youТre cold.Ф
Fleetingly, she confessed to herself that, earlier, sheТd been tempted. УNo,Ф she blurted. УYouТre crude.Ф
He lifted his palms. УAll right, all right, IТm sorry. You shouldnТt have acted likeЧФ
УStop. WeТre going straight back to camp. Behave yourself after youТve slept this off, and IТll let the matter rest. Otherwise Karl and I will send word to the base and make for our flyer. Meanwhile, I suggest you keep Karl in mind.Ф
УAll right, all right,Ф he mumbled sullenly. УI said IТm sorry.Ф
They returned in a thick silence.
Puzzlement, more than anger, tumbled through her. How could he have been so stupid? He was intrinsically intelligent, heТd had centuries of experience, surely space itself had schooled him in patience, he hadnТt lost coordination, which showed he could hold his liquor when he choseЧwhat ailed him?
V
TORBEN Hebo woke with a foul taste in his mouth and a worse temper. Damnation, but heТd bungled! Misgauged, at least. HeТd have sworn the girl was hinting, her eyes, her hips, her tone of voice. He should have remembered what manners and mores were like on Asborg. Every society, including every human society, had its own. In fact, people might think and behave one way in one part of a planet, otherwise in another. How was he supposed to keep such things straight? HeТd forgotten whatever he once learned about her homeland. If heТd actually been there. His visits might have been to areas hundreds, maybe thousands of kilometers from it. HeТd forgotten to ask about her background. And about herself.
HeТd been forgetting too much, too often, these past years.
Nevertheless, she didnТt have to take such offense, did she? HeТd backed off, apologized, hadnТt he?
He and Dzesi needed her goodwill. What did she want for restoring it?
Maybe sheТd be in a forgiving mood. Maybe she wouldnТt. If not, what could he say to soothe her?
While he brooded, he rose, cleansed, and dressed. Dzesi had already left. When Hebo returned from the river, the anthropard had said wryly, УI wondered whether you would prefer I rest elsewhere,Ф which hadnТt helped.
Outside, the sun had shifted less than a degree across the sky. Cloud cover hazed it. The wind blew stronger and cooler, with a salty tang. It sent russet waves over the crowns of the forest on the hills.
[34] LissaТs puffball tent lay shut, near the storage dome. Was she sleeping late? Because anger had kept her awake late? Hebo entered the dome for cooking and dining, almost afraid to find her there. Karl and Dzesi sat conversing. УGreeting,Ф said the Gargantuan politely. Had she told him?
УCoffee is ready,Ф the Rikhan said.
In spite of everything, Hebo chuckled. УGod bless you.Ф He strode to the pot and drew a large mugful.
УWhat are your plans for the immediate future, if I may inquire?Ф asked Karl. УOr would you prefer to postpone talk until after breakfast? I have observed that many humans do.Ф
УDonТt want breakfast.Ф Hebo gulped the hot brew. УA trail bar will be plenty. WeТve got to get started, Dzesi.Ф
УTo the relic?Ф KarlТs question was not entirely ridiculous, for he added, УThe tide is flowing up the river. Do you know how far it will come or how high it will crest? A sun close to a planet raises large tides.Ф
DzesiТs whiskers bristled. УThat is obvious,Ф she said, miffed.
УIn this case, the force is eleven or twelve times Terran maximum,Ф Hebo added. УAnybody can calculate that.Ф
УBut topography causes great variations,Ф Karl said.
УWe know that too,Ф the Rikhan snapped.
УI beg your pardon. No condescension was intended. I have learned that humans like to makeЧsmall talk, do you call it in Anglay?Чbut have found it virtually impossible to formulate what the appropriate occasions and subjects are.Ф
Dzesi relaxed. УHonor is mutually satisfied,Ф she said.
Hard enough for humans to please each other, Hebo thought.
His spirits lifted the least bit. Maybe he could cultivate this being, who could then put in a kindly word with Lissa. Or, for that matter, with those influential people sheТd spoken of.
УWe havenТt been here for a tidal cycle,Ф he said. УBut, plainly, the object will be submerged. WeТll take what further measurements we can, then retrieve the instruments out there. [35] While we wait for ebb, we can try reducing some more of the data.
УWeТd be glad of your help and milady WindfallТs in that,Ф he added, Уand I guess youТll be interested.Ф
УIndeed. I will tell her when she rises.Ф Did Karl sound anxious? УI do recommend alertness.Ф
Impatience took over. УWeТre still alive, arenТt we?Ф Hebo emptied the mug and pocketed his ration. УReady to go, Dzesi?Ф
The anthropard came lithely erect. Now her whiskers quivered. УFor these past three hours.Ф Her species slept too, but ordinarily in brief naps around the clock. Which made it a lot easier for them to adapt to other planets than it was for humans with their long circadian rhythms, Hebo thought for perhaps the thousandth time.
In spite of which, he also thought, humans had done pretty damn well, and they werenТt the very first local race who set forth to the stars.
Therefore letТs get on with the job at hand.
Which was to collect as much further information as possible before the tide covered the relic, and prepare an arrangement that would keep on probing while it was underwaterЧincrease what he and Dzesi would have to bargain withЧand afterward make up with the woman. HeТd think of some way to do that. Right now he was too busy.
Karl stayed by the tent. He himself didnТt bother with shelters. His gaze followed them till they had gone from sight down the canyonside. Maybe it still did when their boat came into his purview.
Already the river roiled within thirty centimeters of the top of the artifact. The wind from the darkling west raised choppy, chaotic waves. Spray blew off them, sea-bitter where it struck lips.
Having debarked, Dzesi leaped to the crystallometer. Like the other instruments in place, it had been sending its input to the computer ashore, but this hadnТt lately been analyzed and she wanted to adjust it. The array of atoms here was evidently [36] different from any other that was known. What kind of potential did that imply?
When races sundered by space and time finally got together, what marvels they discovered!
Hebo sought the far side to inspect a vibration analyzer. Water gurgled around the attachment of its cable and lapped at its geckofoot stand. Damn, but the river was rising fast.
Unease struck. УDzesi,Ф he called into the wind, УI think weТd better load our stuff on the boat right away.Ф
УThere is not that much haste,Ф answered his partner, absorbed.
УWell, soon,Ф Hebo yielded. Currents set even this material slightly ashiver, which provided cluesЧ
And then waves lifted, to wash over metal and ankles. Noise rolled, crashed, and deafened. Eastward up the river, glinting green and foam-white, raced a wall of water.
VI
THE thunder shocked Lissa out of sleep. She squirmed from her bag, crawled from the tent, and jumped to her feet. In horror and instant understanding, she knew.
Karl was headed for the gorge. His legs scissored. She ran after him, unable to match that stride. He stopped on the rim, wheeled around, gestured and shrilled at her. The translator lay amidst other gear, but there was no mistaking what he cried. УGo back! This can kill you!Ф
She recoiled. He turned again to the river. Over the brink he went.