"David Garnett - Off The Track (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Garnett David)

"It can't be worse than some of the food we've eaten abroad, and it
will
be a lot cheaper. We've got to try the local cuisine while we're here."
They had enough food, a packed lunch prepared at the hotel; but maybe
Angela was finally coming to terms with this trip.
"Just don't drink the water," said Michael, as one of them always did
wherever they went. "I wouldn't even put it in the radiator."
Angela nodded, then glanced back at Michael. "Air-cooled engine,
right?"
she said. "I just wish this air would cool me." She fanned her face
with
her book, then gazed out of the windscreen as they neared the town.
They had driven through several similar small towns, and compared to
those
in Europe the roads were all very wide, even the side streets, and the
buildings were set far apart. None of them were very tall, many of them
only single storey. There was no need to build up when it was easier to
build out. If there was one thing in surplus here, it was land.
Michael wondered what possible reason there could be for a town out
here
 in the wilderness. Why had it ever been settled? Which came first, the
road or the town? Almost every building was built of wood. Nothing
looked
new, nothing looked old. A decade or a century, it made little
difference.
A swirl of dust blew across the street ahead of them, a reminder that
the
desert was waiting to reclaim the whole area.
It only took a minute to reach the centre of town, and the road was
lined
with shops on either side. At least half of them were boarded up or
derelict. Michael saw two other vehicles going by in the opposite
direction, one of them a pickup truck, the other a battered old saloon.
The driver of the first stared, the driver of the second raised a hand
in
greeting. Michael started to wave back, but he was too late.
He noticed two petrol pumps on the other side of the road, and he took
his
foot off the accelerator.
"Is that garage open?" he asked.
"It looks deserted."
"That might not mean anything. They won't get many customers."
As he drove past, he saw the open door of what might have been a
workshop.

"There!" said Angela. "Someone's inside."
"We'll give it a try."
He checked the mirror. There was nothing behind. There had been nothing
behind since the border. He did a U-turn and pulled into the forecourt.
A