"Alan Dean Foster - Humanx 1 - Midworld" - читать интересную книгу автора (Foster Alan Dean)

paws upraised and claws extended.

The scream dropped to a moan that was abruptly
subsumed by an overpowering, frightening roar of
crackings and snappings. Even the branch of the near-
by Pillar tree shook. Then the branch they stood
on rocked fiercely. With his great strength, Ruuma-
hum was able to maintain his perch, but Bom was
not so secure. He fell several meters, smashing through
a couple of helpless succulents before he hit an
unyielding protrusion. He started to bounce off it be-
fore he got both arms locked around the stiff fom.
The vibrating stopped, and he was able to get his
legs around it, too.

Shaking, he pulled himself up. Nothing felt broken,
and everything seemed to work. But his snuffler was
gone; its restraining tie had snapped, sending it bounc-
ing and spinning into the depths. That was a severe
loss.

The crashing and breaking sounds faded, finally
stopped. As he had fallen, Bom thought he had seen
in the distance through the green an impossibly wide
mass of something blue and metallic. It had passed
as swiftly as he had fallen. As he stared that way


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now there was nothing to be seen but the forest.

Peepers and orbioles came out of hiding, called
hesitantly into the silence. Then bushackers and flow-
erkits and their relatives joined in. In minutes the
hylaea sounded and resounded normally again.

"Something has happened," Ruumahum ventured
softly.

"I think I saw it." Bom stared harder, still saw

16

only what belonged. "Did you? Something big and
blue and shining."

Ruumahum eyed him steadily. "Saw nothing. Saw
self falling to Hell and gone. Concentrated on staying