"Harlan Ellison - Paladin of the Lost Hour" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ellison Harlan)

and how soonBilly Kinetta would be once again what he had always been: alone.

When he returned to the apartment at two-thirty, Gaspar was asleep, cocooned in hisblanket on the sofa.
Billy went in and tried to sleep, but hours later, when sleep wouldnot come, when thoughts of murky
water and calcium night light on dark foliage kept himstaring at the bedroom ceiling, he came out of the
room for a drink of water. He wanderedaround the living room, not wanting to be by himself even if the
only companionship inthis sleepless night was breathing heavily, himself in sleep.

He stared out the window. Clouds lay in chiffon strips across the sky. The squealing oftires from the
street.

Sighing, idle in his movement around the room, he saw the old man's pocket watch lyingon the coffee
table beside the sofa. He walked to the table. If the watch was stillstopped at eleven o'clock, perhaps he
would borrow it and have it repaired. It would be anice thing to do for Gaspar. He loved that beautiful
timepiece.

Billy bent to pick it up.

The watch, stopped at the V of eleven precisely, levitated at an angle, floating awayfrom him.

Billy Kinetta felt a shiver travel down his back to burrow in at the base of his spine.He reached for the
watch hanging in air before him. It floated away just enough that hisfingers massaged empty space. He
tried to catch it. The watch eluded him, lazily turningaway like an opponent who knows he is in no
danger of being struck from behind.

Then Billy realized Gaspar was awake. Turned away from the sofa, nonetheless he knewthe old man was
observing him. And the blissful floating watch.

He looked at Gaspar.

They did not speak for a long time.

Then: "I'm going back to sleep," Billy said. Quietly.

"I think you have some questions," Gaspar replied.

"Questions? No, of course not, Dad. Why in the world would I have questions? I'mstill asleep." But that
was not the truth, because he had not been asleep that night.

"Do you know what 'Gaspar' means? Do you remember the three wise men of the Bible,the Magi?"



file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Ha...n%20-%20Paladin%20of%20the%20Lost%20Hour.htm (15 of 22) [10/18/2004 4:56:25 PM]
 Harlan Ellison - Paladin of the Lost Hour

"I don't want any frankincense and myrrh. I'm going back to bed. I'm going now.You see, I'm going right
now."