"Cook, Glen - The Tower of Fear" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cook Glen)

Bel-Sidek turned. "Aaron. How are you?"

"Upset. I have small children. It disturbs me that the Dartars seem more interested in their safety than do those of my own people who might say they have some claim on my sympathy. People who, by their nature, ought to have some insight into the problem if there's a racket behind the child-stealing."

Bel-Sidek understood. He did not like it. "I hear what you're saying, Aaron. Here. Come. Walk with me to my house." He began dragging the leg uphill.

The man turned his son over to his wife and followed. It did not take him long to catch up. Bel-Sidek asked, "Is it true, what she said?"

"You know how women are when they're scared or mad. Say any damned thing that pops into their head."

"Yes." He glanced back at Raheb, still frozen in place. There was an omen as sinister as her daughter's threat. "I know some people who know some people. I'll say something to someone."

"Thank you. How is your father doing?"

"He sleeps a lot now. The pain doesn't bother him as much as it did."

"Good."

"I'll tell him you asked about him."



The old man wakened when the door slammed. It had to be slammed or it would not close all the way. "Bel-Sidek?" He winced as the pain shot down his side.

"Yes, General."

The old man composed himself before the khadifa entered the dimness of his room. Only a part of the dimness was due to a lack of lighting. His eyes were growing feeble. He could make out few details of bel-Sidek when he appeared. "Was it a good day, Khadifa?"

"It began well. Three ships came with the morning tide. There was work. We needn't worry about where our meals will come from for a few days."

"But?"

"I encountered an unpleasant situation coming home. It was illuminating."

"Political?"

"Yes."

"Report."

He listened carefully, with a feeling for nuance. His hearing was excellent. Time had been that kind. He heard not only objective substance but the implication that the khadifa was troubled in heart.

"The woman-Raheb?-bothers you. Why?"

"She had one son. Taidiki. Her sunrise. Her full moon. He went to Dak-es-Souetta with my Thousand. A brave lad. He held his ground till the end. He was one of the forty-eight of mine who came home. He came back in worse shape than I did. A lot worse. But he was a proud kid. He thought he'd done something. His mother cried for him, but she was proud of him, too. And of everyone who fought the odds at Dak-es-Souetta. Fanatically so."

"Is there a punch line to this story, Khadifa?"

"A year ago Taidiki went into the street and started telling anyone who would listen the same things his sister said today, only he spoke more straightforwardly. He said hard things about our class and the Living. He said the Dartar tribes were not the traitors of Dak-es-Souetta, that Qushmarrah had betrayed them first by ignoring them in their need. They had done only what they had to do so their children could eat. When one of the Living tried to hush him, he denounced the man. When the man resorted to threats, Taidiki's neighbors-our neighbors- beat him senseless."