"Avram Davidson - The House the Blakeneys Built" - читать интересную книгу автора (Davidson Avram)

ours," she said. "Not ours, you. Elses. But I rather have's you here than that
Runaway Little Bob back, or that Thin Jinnie тАж Yes, I rathers."

There was only one serviceable axe, so no timber was cut. But Ezra found a
cove where driftwood limbs and entire trees were continually piling up; and
the sawmill didn't lack for wood to feed it. "Makes a lot of boards, a hey,"
Young Little Bob said one day.
"We're building a house," Robert explained.

The wagoner looked across the bay at the mighty towers and turrets, the great
gables and long walls. From the distance no breach was noticeable, although
two of the chimneys could be seen to slant slightly. "Lots to build," he said.
"A hey, whole roof on north end wing, mum mum, bad, it's bad, hey."

"No, we're building our own house."

He looked at them, surprised. "Wants to build another room? Easier, I say, me,
clean up a no-one's room. Oh, a hey, lots of them!"

Robert let the matter drop, then, but it could not be dropped forever, so one
night after eats he began to explain. "We are very grateful for your help to
us," he said, "strangers as we are to you and your ways. Perhaps it is because
we are strange that we feel we want to have our own house to live in."

The Blakeneys were, for Blakeneys, quiet. They were also uncomprehending.

"It's the way we've been used to living. On many of the other worlds people do
live, many familiesтАФand the families are all smaller than this, than yours,
than the Blakeneys, I meanтАФmany in one big house. But not on the world we
lived in. There, every family has its own house, you see. We've been used to
that. Now, at first, all five of us will live in the new house we're going to
build near the mill. But as soon as we can we'll build a second new one. Then
each family will have its own тАж"

He stopped, looked helplessly at his wife and friends. He began again, in the
face of blank nonunderstanding, "We hope you'll help us. We'll trade our
services for your supplies. You can give us food and cloth, we'll grind your
flour and saw your wood. We can help you fix your furniture, your looms, your
broken floors and walls and roofs. And eventuallyтАФ"

But he never got to explain about eventually. It was more than he could do to
explain about the new house. No Blakeneys came to the house-raising. Robert
and Ezra fixed up a capstan and hoist, block-and-tackle, managedтАФwith the help
of the two womenтАФto get their small house built. But nobody of the Blakeneys
ever came any more with grain to be ground, and when Robert and Ezra went to
see them they saw that the newly-sawn planks and the lathe-turned wood still
lay where it had been left.

"The food we took with us is gone," Robert said. "We have to have more. I'm
sorry you feel this way. Please understand, it is not that we don't like you.