"Frank Herbert - Soul Catcher" - читать интересную книгу автора (Herbert Brian & Frank)

Soul Catcher (v1.1)
Frank Herbert, 1972




He was Katsuk, the core from which all perception radiates. And his victim was David
Marshall, the 13 year old son of an Undersecretary of State, an innocent chosen from the
white world for an ancient sacrifice of vengeance.




When the boy's father arrived at Six Rivers Camp, they showed him a number of things
which they might not have revealed to a lesser person. But the father, as you know, was
Howard Marshall and that meant State Department and VIP connections in Washington,
D.C.; so they showed him the statement from the professor and the interviews with the
camp counselors, that sort of thing. Of course, Marshall saw the so-called kidnap note and
the newspaper clippings which some of the FBI men had brought up to the camp that
morning.
Marshall lived up to expectations. He spoke with the measured clarity of someone to
whom crises and decisions were a way of life. In response to a question, he said:
'I know this Northwest Coast country very well, you understand. My father was in lumber
here. I spent many happy days in this region as a child and young man. My father hired
Indians whenever he could find ones who would work. He paid them the same wages as
anyone else. Our Indians were well treated. I really don't see how this kidnapping could be
aimed at me personally or at my family. The man who took David must be insane.'
Statement of Dr Tilman Barth, University of Washington Anthropology Department:
I find this whole thing incredible. Charles Hobuhet cannot be the mad killer you make him
out to be. It's impossible. He could not have kidnapped that boy. You must not think of him
as criminal, or as Indian. Charles is a unique intellect, one of the finest students I've ever
had. He's essentially gentle and with a profoundly subtle sense of humor. You know, that
could just be our situation here. This could be a monstrous joke. Here, let me show you
some of his work. I've saved copies of everything Charles has written for me. The world's
going to know about him someday ...
From a news story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
The most intensive manhunt in Washington history centered today on the tangled rain
forest and virtually untouched wilderness area of the Olympic National Park.
Law enforcement officials said they still believe Charles Hobuhet, the Indian militant, is
somewhere in that region with his kidnap victim, David Marshall, 13, son of the new United
States Undersecretary of State.
Searchers were not discounting, however, the reports that the two have been seen in
other areas. Part of the investigation focused on Indian lands in the state's far northwest
corner. Indian trackers were being enlisted to assist in the search and bloodhounds were
being brought from Walla Walla.
The manhunt began yesterday with discovery at the exclusive Six Rivers boys' camp that
young Marshall was missing and that a so-called kidnap note had been left behind. The note
reportedly was signed by Hobuhet with his pseudonym 'Katsuk' and threatened to sacrifice
the boy in an ancient Indian ceremony.
The note left at Cedar Cabin, Six Rivers, by Charles Hobuhet-Katsuk: