"Robert A Heinlein - Red Planet v1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

"No, Doc. It's Willis."

"Willis, eh? He looks pert enough to me." The doctor
stared down at the creature. Willis was at his feet, having
come up to watch the dressing of Frank's thumb. To do so he
had protruded three eye stalks from the top of his spherical
mass. The stalks stuck up like thumbs, in an equal-sided trian-
gle, and from each popped a disturbingly human eye. The
little fellow turned around slowly on his tripod of bumps, or
pseudopeds, and gave each of his eyes a chance to examine
the doctor.

"Get me a cup of Java, Jim," commanded the doctor, then
leaned over and made a cradle of his hands. "Here, Willis-
upsi-daisy!" Willis gave a little bounce and landed in the doc-
tor's hands, withdrawing all protuberances as he did so. The
doctor lifted him to the examining table; Willis promptly stuck
out legs and eyes again. They stared at each other.

The doctor saw a ball covered with thick, close-cropped
fur, like sheared sheepskin, and featureless at the moment
save for supports and eye stalks. The Mars creature saw an
elderly male Earthman almost completely covered with wiry
grey-and-white hair. The hair was thin on top, thick on chin
and cheeks, moderately thick to sparse on chest and arms and
back and legs. The middle portion of this strange, unMartian
creature was concealed in snow-white shorts. Willis enjoyed
looking at him.

"How do you feel, Willis?" inquired the doctor. "Feel
good? Feel bad?"

A dimple showed at the very crown of the ball between the
stalks, dilated to an opening. "Willis fine!" he said. His voice
was remarkably like Jim's.

"Fine, eh?" Without looking around the doctor added,
"Jim! Wash those cups again. And this time, sterilize them.
Want everybody around here to come down with the pip?"

"Okay, Doc," Jim acknowledged, and added to Francis,
"You want some coffee, too?"

"Sure. Weak, with plenty of cow."

"Don't be fussy." Jim dipped into the laboratory sink and
managed to snag another cup. The sink was filled with dirty
dishes. Nearby a large flask of coffee simmered over a bunsen
burner. Jim washed three cups carefully, put them through the