"Heinlein, Robert A - A Tenderfoot in Space - Original Version v1.0" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

Charlie was stunned. УUh.. . Mr. deSoto? Are you going to talk to my father?Ф
УWhat? Heavens, no! You are their responsibility, not mine. I donТt care what you do. ThatТs all. Go home.Ф
Charlie went home, slowly. He did not talk it over with his parents. Instead he went back to school and studied. In a few weeks he discovered that even algebra could be interesting.. . and that old Frozen Face was an interesting teacher when Charlie had studied hard enough to know what the man was talking about.
Mr. deSoto never mentioned the matter again.

Getting back in the Scouts was more fun but even Scouting held surprises. Mr. QuТan, Scoutmaster of Troop Four, welcomed him heartily. УGlad to have-you, Chuck. It makes me feel good when a Scout among the new citizens comes forward and says be wants to pick up the Scouting trail again.Ф He looked over the letter Charlie had brought with him. УA good recordЧStar Scout at your age. Keep at it and youТll be a Double Star.. . both Earth and Venus.Ф
УYou mean,Ф Charlie said slowly, Уthat IТm not a Star Scout here?Ф
УEh? Not at all.Ф Mr. QuТan touched the badge on CharlieТs jacket. УYou won that fairly and a Court of Honor has certified you. YouТll always be a Star Scout, just as a pilot is entitled to wear his comet after heТs too old to herd a space ship. But letТs be practical. Ever been out in the jungle?Ф
УNot yet, sir. But I always was good at woodcraft~Ф
УMmm. . . Ever camped in the Florida Everglades?Ф
УWell . . . no~ sir.Ф
УNo matter. I simply wanted to point out that while the Everglades are jungle, they are an open desert compared with the jungle here. And the coral snakes and water moccasins in the Everglades are harmless little pets alongside some of the things here. Have you seen our dragonflies yet?Ф
УWell, a dead one, at school.Ф
УThatТs the best way to see them. When you see a live one, better see it first, . . . if itТs a female and ready to lay eggs.Ф
УUh, I know about them. If you fight them off, they wonТt sting.Ф
УWhich is why you had better see them first.Ф
УMr. QuТan? Are they really that big?Ф
УI've seen thirty-six-inch wing spreads. What IТm trying to say, Chuck, is that a lot of men have died learning the tricks of this jungle. If you are as smart as a Star Scout is supposed to be, you wonТt assume that you know what these poor fellows didnТt. YouТll wear that badge. . . but youТll class yourself in your mind as a tenderfoot ,all over again, and you wonТt be in a hurry about promoting yourself.Ф
Charlie swallowed it. УYes, sir. IТll try.Ф
УGood. We use the buddy systemЧyou take care of your buddy and he takes care of you. IТll team you with Hans Kuppenheimer. Hans is only a Second Class Scout, but donТt let that fool you. He was born here and he lives in the bush, on his fatherТs plantation. HeТs the best jungle rat in the troop.Ф
Charlie said nothing, but resolved to become a real jungle rat himself, fast. Being under the wing of a Scout who was merely second class did not appeal to him.

But Hans turned out to be easy to get along with. He was quiet, shorter but stockier than Charlie, neither unfriendly nor chummy; he simply accepted the assignment to look after Charlie. But he startled Charlie by answering, when asked, that he was twenty-three years old.
It left Charlie speechless long enough for him to realize that Hans, born here, meant Venus years, each only two
hundred twenty-five Earth days. Charlie decided thai Hans was about his own age, which seemed reasonable. Time had been a subject which had confused Charlie ever since his arrival. The Venus day was only seven minutes different from that of EarthЧhe had merely had to have his wristwatch adjusted. But the day itself had not meant what it used to mean, because day and night at the north pole of Venus looked alike, a soft twilight.
There were only eight months in the year, exactly four weeks in each month, and an occasional odd С~.Year DayФ to even things off. Worse still, the time of year didnТt mean anything; there were no seasons, just one endless hot, damp summer. It was always the same time of-day, always the same time of year; only clock and calendar kept it from being the land that time forgot. Charlie never quite got used to it.
If Nixie found the timelessness of Venus strange he never mentioned it. On Earth he had slept at night simply because Charlie did so, and, as for seasons, he had never cared much for winter anyhow. He enjoyed getting back into the Scouts even more than Charlie had, because he was welcome at every meeting. Some of the Scouts born on Earth had once had dogs; now none of them hadЧand Nixie was at once mascot of the troop. He was petted almost to exhaustion the first time Charlie brought him to a meeting, until Mr. QuТan pointed out that the dog had to have some peace. . . then squatted down and petted Nixie himself. УNixie,Ф he said musingly, Уa nixie is a water sprite, isnТt it?Ф -
УUh, I believe it does mean that,Ф Charlie admitted, Уbut that isnТt -how he got his name.Ф
УSo?Ф
УWell, I was going to name him СChamp,Т but when he was a puppy I had to say СNixТ to so many things he did that he got to thinking it was his nameЧand then it was.Ф
УMmm.. . more logical than most names. And even the classical meaning is appropriate in a wet place like this. WhatТs this on his collar? I see.. . youТve decorated him with your old tenderfoot badge.Ф
УNo, sir,Ф Charlie corrected. УThatТs his badge.Ф
УEh?Ф
УNixie is a Scout, too. The fellows in my troop back Earthside voted him into the troop. They gave him that. So Nixie is a Scout.Ф
Mr. QuТan raised his eyebrows and smiled. One of the boys said, УThatТs about the craziest yet. A dog canТt be a Scout.Ф
Charlie had doubts himself; nevertheless he was about to answer indignantly when the Scoutmaster cut smoothly in front of him. УWhat leads you to say that, Al!?Ф
УHuh? Well, gosh! ItТs not according to Scout regulations.Ф
УIt isn~t? I admit it is a new idea, but I canТt recall what rule it breaks. Who brought a Handbook tonight?Ф The Scribe supplied one; Mr. QuТan passed it over to Alf Rheinhardt. УDig in, AIf. Find the rule.Ф
Charlie diffidently produced NixieТs letter of transfer. He had brought it, but had not given it to the Scribe. Mr. QuТan read it, nodded and said, УLooks okay.Ф He passed the letter along to others and said, УWell, Al!?Ф
УIn the first place, it says here that you have to be twelve years old to joinЧEarth years, that is, Сcause thatТs where the Handbook was printed. Is that dog that old? I doubt it.Ф
Mr. QuТan shook his head. УIf I were sitting on a Court of Honor, IТd rule that the regulation did not apply. A dog grows up faster than a boy.Ф
УWell, if you insist on jokingЧand Scouting is no joke to meЧthatТs the point: a dog canТt be a Scout, because heТs a dog.Ф
УScouting is no joke to me either, AlfЧthough I donТt see any reason not to have fun as we go. But I wasnТt joking. A candidate comes along with a letter of transfer,
all regular and proper. Seems to me you should gc mighty slow before you refuse to respect an official act o~ another troop. All youТve said is that Nixie is a dog. Well, didnТt I see somewhereЧlast monthТs BoysТ L4fe~ I thinkЧthat the Boy Scouts of Mars had asked one of the Martian chiefs to serve on their planetary Grand Council?Ф
УBut thatТs not the same thing!Ф
УNothing ever is. But if a MartianЧwho is certainly not a human beingЧcan hold the highest office in Scouting, I canТt see how Nixie is disqualified simply because heТs a dog. Seems to me youТll have to show that he canТt or wonТt do the things that a Tenderfoot Scout should do.Ф
УUh. . .У Alf grinned knowingly. УLetТs hear him explain the Scout Oath.Ф
Mr. QuТan turned to Charlie. УCan Nixie speak English?Ф
УWhat? Why, no, sirЧbut he understands it pretty well.Ф
The Scoutmaster turned back to Aif. УThen the СhandicappedТ rule applies, - AlfЧwe never insist that a Scout do something he canТt do. If you were crippled or blind, we would change the rules to fit you. Nixie canТt talk words. . . so if you want to quiz him about the Scout Oath, youТll have to bark. ThatТs fair, isnТt it, boys?Ф