"Philip Jose Farmer - WOT 5 - The Lavalite World" - читать интересную книгу автора (Farmer Phillip Jose)

know when.

He sat down and rubbed his legs. They still hurt from the accident that
had taken place twelve "days" ago. The pain in his chest had almost ceased,
however. He was recovering, but he was not as agile and strong as he needed to
be.
 That the gravity was less than Earth's helped him, though.

He lay down for a minute. No enemy, human or beast, was going to attack.
They would have to get through those killer trees first. Only the elephants
and the giant variety of moosoids were big enough to do that. He wished that
some of these would show up. They fed upon trees. However, at this distance
Kickaha couldn't determine just what type of killer plants they were. Some
were so fearsomely armed that even the big beasts avoided them.

How in hell had the trees detected the little party? They had a keen
olfactory sense, but he doubted that the wind was strong enough to carry the
odor of the party up over the hills. The visual ability of the plants was
limited. They could see shapes through the multifaceted insectine eyes ringing
the upper parts of their trunks. But at this distance and in this light, they
might as well be blind.

One or more of their scouts must have come up a hill and caught a
molecule or two of human odor. That was, after all, nothing to be surprised
about. He and the others stank. The little water they had been able to find
was used for drinking only. If they didn't locate more water tomorrow, they'd
have to start drinking their own urine. It could be recycled twice before it
became poisonous.

Also, if they didn't kill something soon, they would be too weak from
hunger to walk.

He rubbed the barrel of the hand-beamer with the fingers of his left
hand. Its battery had only a few full-power discharges available. Then it
would be exhausted. So far, he and Anana had refrained from using any of the
power. It was the only thing that allowed them to keep the upper hand over the
other three. It was also their only strong defense against the big predators.
But when "dawn" came, he was going to go hunting. They had to eat, and they
could drink blood to quench their thirst.

First, though, they had to get through the trees. Doing that might use
up the battery. It also might not be enough. There could be a thousand trees
on the other side of the hills.

The clouds were thickening. Perhaps, at long last, rain would come. If
it rained as hard as Urthona said it did, it might fill this cup-shaped
valley. They'd have to drown or charge into the trees. Some choice.

He lay on his back for a few minutes. Now he could hear faint creaks and
groans and an occasional mutter. The earth was moving under him. Heat flowed