"Bradbury, Ray - Sound of Thunder, The" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bradbury Ray)

"Stay out of this!" Travis shook his hand away. "This son
of a bitch nearly killed us. But it isn't that so much. Hell, no.
It's his shoes Look at them! He ran off the Path. My God,
that ruins us I Christ knows how much we'll forfeit. Tens of
thousands of dollars of insurance We guarantee no one
leaves the Path. He left it. Oh, the damn fool! Ill have to
report to the government. They might revoke our license
to travel. God knows what he's done to Time, to History!"
"Take it easy, all he did was kick up some dirt."
"How do we know?" cried Travis. "We don't know anything!
It's all a damn mystery! Get out there, Eckels!"
Eckels fumbled his shirt. "Ill pay anything. A hundred
thousand dollars!"
Travis glared at Eckels' chequebook and spat. "Go out
there. The Monster's next to the Path. Stick your arms up
to your elbows in his mouth. Then you can come back with
us."
"That's unreasonable!"
"The Monsters dead, you yellow bastard. The bullets!
The bullets can't be left behind. They don't belong in the
Past; they might change something. Here's my knife. Dig
them out!"
The jungle was alive again, full of the old tremorings
and bird cries. Eckels turned slowly to regard that primeval
garbage dump, that hill of nightmares and terror. After a
long time, like a sleepwalker, he shuffled out along the Path.
He returned, shuddering, five minutes later, his arms
soaked and red to the elbows. He held out his hands. Each
held a number of steel bullets. Then he fell. He lay where
he fell, not moving.
"You didn't have to make him do that," said Lesperance.
"Didn't I? It's too early to tell." Travis nudged the still
body. "He'll live. Next time he won't go hunting game like
this. Okay." He jerked his thumb wearily at Lesperance.
"Switch on. Let's go home."
1492. 1776. 1812.
They cleaned their hands and faces. They changed their
caking shirts and pants. Eckels was up and around again,
not speaking. Travis glared at him for a full ten minutes.
"Don't look at me," cried Eckels. "I haven't done anything."
"Who can tell?"
"Just ran off the Path, that's all, a little mud on my shoes
what do you want me to get down and pray?"
"We might need it. I'm warning you, Eckels, I might kill
you yet. I've got my gun ready."
"I'm innocent. I've done nothing]"
1999. 2000. 2055.
The Machine stopped.
"Get out," said Travis.
The room was there as they had left it. But not the same