"Lester Del Rey - Pursuit" - читать интересную книгу автора (Del Rey Lester)

He began shucking off his shirt as he went back through the living room - until the marks on the rug
caught his eyes. Something heavy had rested there recently - there had been other desks about, or heavily
laden tables. And a bit of paper under the sofa could only have come from one of the complicated computing
machines used in high-power mathematics. He scanned the fragment, making no sense of it, except that it
was esoteric enough to belong to any new branch of theory. For a second, the heat-rays and levitations
entered his head - but none of the symbols fitted such a branch of physical development.
What had been going on, here - and why had the machines been removed so recently that their traces still
looked fresh?
He shook his head - and froze, as a key turned in the lock.
There was no time for flight. She stood in the doorway, blinking at the light before he could turn. She, of
course, was the girl whom he'd barely noticed when he knocked the couple down as he charged out of his
apartment.
Of course? He puzzled over that. He'd almost expected it - and yet, now that he looked more closely, he
couldn't even be sure that she was the same. She wore the same green jacket, but nothing else he could be
sure of, because he had no other memory of that girl. This one was two inches shorter than he was, with dark
red hair and the deepest blue eyes he had seen. She looked like an artist's conception of an Irish colleen,
except that her mouth was open half an inch, and she was studying him with the look of being about ready to
scream.
тАЬWho are you?тАЭ He forced the words out at her.
She shook her head, and then smiled doubtfully. тАЬEllen Iba├▒ez, naturally. You startlVed me! But you
must be Wilbur Hawkes, of' course. Didn't you, get my wire?тАЭ
He watched her, but there had been no stumbling over his name, and no effort to make it sound too
casual. Apparently, the name meant nothing to her. He shook his head. тАЬWhat wire?тАЭ Then he plunged
ahead, quickly. тАЬYou've heard of amnesia? Good. Well, I've got it - partially. If you can tell me anything
about myself before yesterday, Miss, I'll never be anything butтАж
He choked on that, unable to finish. And behind the surface emotions, his mind was poised, sniffing for
danger. There was no feeling of it, though he kept telling himself alternately that she had been the girl at the
door and that she obviously had not been.
He'd seen her before. The tilt of her head, that unmatchable hairтАж


тАЬYou poor man!тАЭ Her voice was all sympathy, and the bag she was carrying dropped to the floor as she
came over. тАЬYou mean you really can't remember - at all?тАЭ
тАЬNot for the last seven months!тАЭ
She seemed surprised. тАЬBut that was when you answered my advertisement. I never saw you - though you
did call me, and your voice sounds familiar. You sent me the check, and I mailed, you the key. That was all.тАЭ
тАЬBut I must have given you references - told you something -тАЬ
Again, she shook her head. тАЬNothing. You said you were a teacher at CCNY, but that you were quitting,
and wanted a place to use as an office. You didn't care what it was like. That's all.тАЭ
 Hawkes felt she was lying - but it could have been true. And in his present state, he probably believed
everyone was other than they seemed. He remembered the gray sedan rising to the roof - and the cat turning
inside out -
Sickness hit at him. He groped back towards a chair, sinking into it. He'd almost found a refuge, and even
hoped that he could find some of the missing past. NowтАж
He must have partially fainted. He heard vague sounds, and then she was putting something against his
lips. It was bitter and hot, though it only remotely resembled coffee. He gulped it gratefully, not caring that it
was sweet and black. He saw the bottle of old coffee powder, caked with age, and heard the water boiling on
the stove. Idly, he wondered whether he'd bought the jar originally or she had. Then his senses snapped back.
тАЬThanks,тАЭ he muttered thickly. He groped his way to his feet, his head slowly clearing. тАЬI guess I'd better
go now.тАЭ