"Zenna Henderson - Hush!" - читать интересную книгу автора (Henderson Zenna)

тАЬOkay.тАЭ And Dubby finally climbed down and settled back against his pillows.

The heating system hummed. The old refrigerator in the kitchen cleared its throat and added its chirking throb to the
voice of the house. The mantel clock tocked firmly to itself in the front room. June was absorbed in her homework
when a flutter of movement at her elbow jerked her head up.
тАЬDubby!тАЭ she began indignantly.
тАЬShh!тАЭ Dubby pantomimed, finger to lips, his eyes wide with excitement. He leaned against June, his fever
radiating like a small stove through his pyjamas and robe. His breath was heavy with the odour of illness as he put his
mouth close to her ear and barely whispered:
тАЬI made it. The Noise-eater. HeтАЩs asleep now. DonтАЩt make a noise or heтАЩll get you.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩll get you, too,тАЭ said June. тАЬPlay-like is play-like, but you get right back on that couch!тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩm too scared,тАЭ breathed Dubby. тАЬWhat if I cough?тАЭ
тАЬYou will cough if you тАУтАЭ June started in a normal tone, but Dubby threw himself into her lap and muffled her
mouth with his small hand. He was trembling.
тАЬDonтАЩt! DonтАЩt!тАЭ he begged frantically. тАЬIтАЩm scared. How do you un-play-like? I didnтАЩt know itтАЩd work so good!тАЭ
There was a choonk and a slither in the front room. June strained her ears, alarm stirring in her chest.
тАЬDonтАЩt be silly,тАЭ she whispered. тАЬPlay-like isnтАЩt for true. ThereтАЩs nothing in there to hurt you.тАЭ
A sudden succession of musical pings startled June and threw Dubby back into her arms until she recognised Mrs.
WarrenтАЩs bedroom clock striking seven oтАЩclock тАУ early as usual. There was a sort of drawn-out slither in the front
room and then silence.
тАЬGo on, Dubby. Get back on the couch like a nice child. WeтАЩve played long enough.тАЭ
тАЬYou take me.тАЭ
June herded him ahead of her, her knees bumping his reluctant back at every step until he got a good look at the
whole front room. Then he sighed and relaxed.
тАЬHeтАЩs gone,тАЭ he said normally.
тАЬSure he is,тАЭ replied June. тАЬPlay-like stuff always goes away.тАЭ She tucked him under his covers. Then, as if
hoping to brush his fears тАУ and hers тАУ away, by calmly discussing it, тАЬWhat did he look like?тАЭ
тАЬWell, he had a body like MotherтАЩs vacuum cleaner тАУ the one that lies down on the floor тАУ and his legs were like
my sled, so he could slide on the floor, and he had a nose like the hose on the cleaner only he was able to make it long
or short when he wanted to.тАЭ
Dubby, overstrained, leaned back against his pillows.
The mantel clock began to boom the hour deliberately.
тАЬAnd he had little eyes like the light inside the refrigerator тАУтАЭ
June heard a choonk at the hall door and glanced up. Then with fear-stiffened lips, she continued for him, тАЬAnd
ears like TV antennae because he needs good ears to find the noises.тАЭ And watched, stunned, as the round metallic
body glided across the floor on shiny runners and paused in front of the clock that was deliberately on the sixth
stroke.
The long, wrinkly, trunk-like nose on the front of the thing flashed upward. The end of it shimmered, then melted
into the case of the clock. And the seventh stroke never began. There was a soft sucking sound and the nose
dropped free. On the mantel, the hands of the clock dropped soundlessly to the bottom of the dial.

In the tight circle of JuneтАЩs arms, Dubby whimpered. June clapped her hand over his mouth. But his shoulders began
to shake and he rolled frantic imploring eyes at her as another coughing spell began. He couldnтАЩt control it.
June tried to muffle the sound with her shoulder, but over the deep, hawking convulsions, she heard the choonk
and slither of the creature and screamed as she felt it nudge her knee. Then the long snout nuzzled against her
shoulder and she heard a soft hiss as it touched the straining throat of the coughing child. She grabbed the horribly
vibrating thing and tried to pull it away, but DubbyтАЩs cough cut off in mid-spasm.
In the sudden quiet that followed she heard a gurgle like a straw in the bottom of a soda glass and Dubby folded
into himself like an empty laundry bag. June tried to straighten him against the pillows, but he slid laxly down.
June stood up slowly. Her dazed eyes wandered trance-like to the clock, then to the couch, then to the horrible