"James E. Gunn - The Witching Hour" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gunn James E)

him the tests had been worse than useless. Faithfully he had gone through every step of the endless ritual:
precipitate, filter, dissolve, precipitate. And then he had taken his painfully secured, neatly written results
to тАФ what was his name тАФ Wadsworth, and the little chemistry professor had looked at his analysis and
looked up, frowning.

тАЬDidnтАЩt you find any whatyoumaycallit oxide?тАЭ he had asked.

тАЬWhatyoumaycallit oxide?тАЭ Startled. тАЬOh, there wasnтАЩt any whatyoumaycallit oxide.тАЭ

And Wadsworth had made a simple test, and, sure enough, there was the whatyoumaycallit oxide.

There had been the inexplicably misshapen gear be had made on the milling machine, the drafting pen that
would not draw a smooth line no matter how much he sanded the point. It had convinced Matt that his
hands were too clumsy to belong to an engineer. He had transferred his ambitions to a field where tools
were less tangible. Now he wondered.

Kobolds? Accident prones?

Sometime he would have to write it up. It would make a good paper for theJournal of тАж

Laughter! This time there was no possible doubt. It came from right behind him.

Matt whirled. The girl stood there, hugging her ribs to keep the laughter in. She was a little thing, not
much over five feet tall, in a shapeless, faded blue dress. Her feet were small and bare and dirty. Her
hair, in long braids, was mouse-colored. Her pale face was saved from plainness only by her large blue
eyes. She was about thirteen, Matt estimated.

Matt flushed. тАЬWhat the devil are you laughing at?тАЭ

тАЬYou!тАЭ she gasped. тАЬWhyтАЩnтАЩt you get a horse?тАЭ

тАЬDid that remark just reach these parts?тАЭ

He swallowed his irritation, turned and got down on his hands and knees to peer under the car. One by
one he gathered up the nuts, but the last one, inevitably, was out of reach. Sweating, he crawled into the
dust under the car.

When he came out, the girl was still there. тАЬWell, what are you waiting for?тАЭ he asked bitingly.

тАЬNothinтАЩ.тАЭ But she stood with her feet planted firmly in the red dust.

Kibitzers annoyed Matt, but he couldnтАЩt think of anything to do about it. He twirled the nuts onto the
bolts and tightened them, his neck itching. It might have been the effect of sweat and dust, but he was not
going to give the girl the satisfaction of seeing him rub it. That annoyed him even more. He tapped the
hubcap into place and stood up.

тАЬWhy donтАЩt you go home?тАЭ he asked sourly.

тАЬCainтАЩt,тАЭ she said.