"Frankowski, Leo - Stargard 3 - The Radiant Warrior" - читать интересную книгу автора (Frankowski Leo)

УI guess I canТt count the incident at the ferry at Cracow last summer, since it started when I got a rock on the side of my head and it was over before I got my wits back. The rabies victim wasn't a fight. He had me so scared that I killed him out of fright. It was simple murder.Ф The opening was over, and Count Lambert was moving from a Sicilian defense into a strong center position.

УThat last thing you mentioned, this Тrabies victim,' was a vampire. They must be killed. You did right, Sir Conrad. But think, in about a year you have been in what?-say ten bits of action. You forgot your brawl with Sir Stefan. Do you realize that I haven't had the chance to draw my sword in earnest in four years? And I must spend a third of my time on the road.Ф

УTrue, my lord, but you always travel in the company of a dozen armored knights.Ф Now what the devil was I going to do about that damn bishop?

УDogТs blood, but you're right! From now on I'll travel in simple garb and I'll travel alone! Let the rest follow an hour behind! That ought to get some action going.Ф

УMy lord, I was just talking idly, trying to get your mind off your chess. I never meant to get you killed!Ф I was being forced into the comers where I couldnТt maneuver.

УWell, damn the chess! I know! IТll fill two saddlebags with silver, and try to hide the fact. Word will spread like a covey of scared rabbits!Ф He took my queen's bishop.

УPlease, my lord. Your life is important to me.Ф I slaughtered his knight in return.

УWell, thank you. A touching sentiment. But a man must keep his hand in, musnТt he?Ф He took my knight with his pawn! Now why the hell?Е Oh no!

It was best not to let this run too long. УYou never told me how your beehives were doing, my lord.Ф I castled, but I knew it was too late.

УWhat? Oh, wonderful! Twenty-nine of your hives caught themselves bees. We only harvested six of them, but think! From what you said, that means there must be twenty-nine wild hives out there. Add that to the twenty-three I left, and that means fifty-two new hives next year, for a total of seventy-five! And every man of mine will have at least a gross of hives next summer! In a few years, weТll have honey pouring out of our noses!Ф He continued his merciless attack.

That last simile bothered me because like most engineers, my mental imagery is entirely too graphic. I see things while people are talking. The image formed was of honey coming out of Count LambertТs nose and being licked up as soon as it filtered through his thick moustache. Sometimes I wish I was a dull person.

УI wish my own had done as well. By the time I got to my lands last summer, it was a bit late in the season. My gross of beehives only got me eight colonies.Ф I made a try at forking his king and rook, but he saw it and blocked.

УA pity! Shall I harvest one more of mine and send it to you?Ф He pushed an innocent-looking pawn.

УThank you, my lord, but no. You know my customs. I always eat the same as my workers. Split between nine hundred people, the harvest of one hive would come to about one honey cake each. In a few years, weТll have enough to make mead.Ф I was forced to trade a bishop for two pawns.

УMead! IТve heard of that. My grandfather was said to have loved it. But who could afford to drink it now, honey being as rare as it is? I doubt if anyone still knows the way of making it. Do you know?Ф He took my queen's rook, hardly glancing at the board.

УIt happens that IТve made several barrels of the stuff. It's simple enough, and in truth, my lord, it was better than what we're drinking. I'll show your people how when the time comes.Ф

In modem Poland, the making of alcohol in any form is illegal without a state license. In America, where I went to college, any adult may make wine or beer, up to two hundred gallons a year, which is a lot. One of my dorm brothers was over twenty-one, and-purely in the interest of studying ancient technology-we had produced seven plastic garbage containers of the stuff, mead being the cheapest palatable drink that is easily made. I recall that it was under two dollars a gallon, buying honey wholesale and making mead of twelve percent alcohol.

УSir Conrad, I know that I have said this too many times before, and that you have always proved me wrong. But what if you should die? What if no one else remembers how to make it?Ф

My position was untenable. I saw a forced mate in five moves, and Count Lambert would probably see a shorter one. I tipped my king over, acknowledging defeat. Count Lambert started to reset the board for another game, turning the board so that I would play black.

УAs you wish, my lord. You dilute the honey with water at the ratio of three-to-one if you want a sweet wine, or from four-to-one even to six-to-one if you want a dry wine for hot summer afternoons. Boil it for a little while and skim off the foam that comes up.Ф

УAdd spices if you want to. You might have some fun playing with them. Lemons are good, but I donТt think you can get them here. You might try substituting a few handfuls of rose hips. Or try apples. In fact, substituting apple juice for the water, and using less honey makes a fine drink. All of that is to your own taste. Making any wine is an art form.Ф

УThe only important point is to use wine yeast, not beer yeast. That is to say, have a merchant bring you some very new wine up from Hungary. Tell him you want it still bubbling when it gets here. Put a little of the dregs into the mead after it has cooled.Ф

УItТs fit to drink in a few weeks, and it will last a long time if you keep the air away from it. After that, always save some of the dregs from the last batch to. start the new one. Start out with new barrels, and keep it far away from a beer brewery or a bakery.Ф

Once I had a glass works going, I could make a vapor lock easily enough. These people didnТt have a decent cork, anyway. The nearest cork trees were in Spain, and I doubt if the Spaniards knew what to do with them. A siphon? The nearest rubber tree was in the Amazon valley!

УThatТs all? Not nearly as hard as the way you told us of making steel! You've taught us so much. Your mills, the factories, your excellent hunt! Did I tell you that I have thought on a way to do one of your 'Mongol hunts' on all of my lands, and thus clear them of the wolves and bears that have been killing my people?Ф