"Gordon R. Dickson - Dragon Knight 04 - The Dragon At War" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dickson Gordon R)

told him he was going to take Elly to wife whether he liked it or not-тАЬ
тАЬThank you, Margot,тАЭ said Angie, decisively, for Margot had dropped into a comfortable, confidential
tone which seemed to threaten a complete history of her neighborhood. тАЬThat tells us all we need to
know. You can get back to whatever you were doing, now.тАЭ
She turned to Jim.
тАЬIтАЩve got a few other arrangements to make, to be sure the castle doesnтАЩt fall apart while IтАЩm gone,тАЭ she
said to Jim. тАЬYouтАЩd better take a fresh horse. Even if youтАЩve ridden him easily, GorpтАЩs been carrying you
for some days now, I imagine.тАЭ
тАЬYouтАЩre right,тАЭ said Jim. тАЬIтАЩll go take care of that right now.тАЭ
He and Angie went off in opposite directions, Jim to make his way back out the front of the Great Hall,
from which the servants were rapidly dispersing, under the sensible servant doctrine that if those in
authority couldnтАЩt see them, they were much less likely to be put to work.
In less than half an hour the expedition to rescue Carolinus was on horseback and on its way. Jim and
Angie rode first, with Theoluf and eight of his best men-at-arms behind them. The kettle had been left,
looking a little forlorn, the only occupant of the Great Hall. Servants were normally passing to and fro
through that large space; but the feeling that the kettle might after all still have something of witchery
about it was enough to make them keep their distance.
Jim and Angie were busily comparing notes. Her part consisted of bringing him up to date on affairs
around the castle. But she listened closely as he told her about the Sea Devil; and then to his earlier
adventures up near the Scottish border. These involved the Hollow Men (who were a form of ghost)
and the Borderers, those Northumbrian knights and others of authority who lived next to the Scottish
border, and-last but not least-the Little Men.
She had been fascinated that the Little Men had taken to Dafydd, which was why they had wanted him
to act as their leader; and Jim ended up very nearly telling her that on which Dafydd had sworn him to
silence-the fact that the bowman had been related to an ancient royalty that the Little Men remembered,
even if no one else did.
тАЬIтАЩd tell you the whole story, but I promised Dafydd,тАЭ said Jim finally.
тАЬThatтАЩs all right,тАЭ said Angie. тАЬI know there are some things you canтАЩt tell me. As long as itтАЩs nothing to
do with your own health and safety, I donтАЩt worry about it. Do you think the Little Men could be whatтАЩs
left of the Picts who were there when the Romans built the wall?тАЭ
тАЬI donтАЩt know. We could ask Dafydd; but I promised to forget his connection with them-so I donтАЩt like
to go asking him questions.тАЭ
He reached across from his horse, took her hand and squeezed it. They looked into each otherтАЩs eyes.
тАЬYouтАЩre marvelous, you know that?тАЭ said Jim.
тАЬOf course I know it,тАЭ said Angie lightly. She gave JimтАЩs hand an extra squeeze and let it go. They went
back to riding side by side in perfectly decorous fashion.
The Tinkling Water, which was the place of CarolinusтАЩs residence, was not far away, and they were
there before they had run out of things to tell each other. Its pool, turf and trees, at least, were
unchanged.
It had always been in a peacefully empty, open circle of grass surrounded by tall elms. The grass had
always been close and lush without any sign of a weed in it. It had been like a carpet surrounding the
pool and small, peaked-roofed house that Jim knew from experience had only two rooms- one upstairs
and one down.
The front door was approached by a gravel path that was always magically raked, up to its single step to
the entrance. Beside the path was the small, round pool of beautifully blue water, from the exact center
of which a jet spouted some four or five feet into the air, before breaking into drops and falling back into
the pool with a tinkling sound that was very much like that of the wind gently clashing some oriental glass
chimes. It was this particular element that gave the location the name of The Tinkling Water.
In JimтАЩs opinion it had always been a very beautiful place. But it was not a beautiful place now.
The reason for this was some thirty to forty people who were now camped around the cottage. Their