"Will Hubbell - Cretaceous Sea" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hubbell Will)

"You won't be operating the time machine yourself?" asked John Greighton.

"As I said, I'm on vacation. I believe in getting the best people available, then giving them responsibility.
Joe's already better at it than I."

Joe grinned. "Thank you, Mr. Green. That's quite a compliment."

"Last, but not least, is the newest member of our team, Rick Clements, our naturalist and guide. Don't let
his youth fool you, he's had ten years' worth of field expe-rience and..."

"In the Cretaceous?" interrupted Con incredulously.

"The Cretaceous fossil beds," replied Rick.

"Have you ever seen these animals alive?" asked Con.

"Not yet."

"Rick has studied paleontology at the graduate level," said Green.

Con muttered, "Some guide!" just loud enough to be heard.

Rick flushed at the remark, then noticed Green was glaring at him as if this were his fault. Great, Rick
thought, this is the girt Green wants me to baby-sit. Up to then, his first impression of her had been a
good one. She did not have that rich person's face like her father and his fianc6e or, for that matter, Peter
Green. Her fea-tures appeared natural, not altered to fit the current fash-ion. Rick took that as a good
sign. She had the trim body of an active person, and her hazel eyes had an intelligent look. After her snide
comment, he feared all those things were simply superficial, and she was a rich, spoiled brat after all.

6

CON WAS NOT USED TO CHAMPAGNE AND SHE CLIMBED

the stairs to the time machine with a little difficulty. She hoped no one noticed. Aware that she was not in
full control, she regretted that third glass. She had already insulted the guide. Hopefully, she would not fall
on her face also.

She was led to a high-backed seat that appeared more com-fortable than it really was. It seemed to have
been designed for a much larger person. Certainly, its molded contours did not match her body. After
she sat for a moment, the seat's sides moved and gripped her waist snugly. Con let out a surprised
squeak. Her father grinned. "Didn't you listen to Peter's warning?" She didn't answer. She was fighting to
subdue her growing unease. The idea of time travel had sud-denly been transformed from an abstraction
to imminent re-ality.

The stairway silently rose as the opening in the floor closed up. To Con, it seemed that the edges of the
opening simply grew together like a rapidly healing wound. Soon there was no evidence that there had
ever been an entrance to the cabin. Joe announced they would depart in a few minutes, then disappeared
into the control room. Con avoided looking at the column in the center of the cabin. The thing inside it
made her dizzy, and she was already feeling dizzy enough. Instead, she stared at the viewscreens on the