"Zach Hughes - Killbird" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hughes Zach)

hollowed log. They spoke, in the order of their return. Teetom, first, had
only swimmer skins. He said he had searched for dragons for a moon and
they were extinct. Yorerie had skins and jewels of gods, some oblong and
red. And so it went. There was a restlessness. It was known by one and all
that they did not matter, that the decision was to be between Logan and,
perhaps, the Haired One.

And then came Logan, with his right leg bandaged, healing slowly,
limping. The bear had reached him with its fearful fangs. He spoke well
and bravely. In addition to the bearskin, he had flint. As he spoke, Strabas,
mother of my beloved, smiled in approval.

And now, at last, it was my turn.

While the others talked, and all eyes were on them, I had arranged my
treasures, keeping them hidden under my sleepskin.

"How speak you, Eban the Hunter?" Strabo asked.

"I have fared well," I said. "My honorable father, I ask your permission
to spread my boon among the family."

"Is it so rich, then?" Strabas asked, greed in her eyes.

"Rich enough for all," I said.

"Permission," Strabo granted.

"First," I said, pulling out the lionskin, "a special gift for Yuree, to
warm her, to pleasure her, to give her honor."

There was a collective gasp, and the women crowded forward to finger
the lionskin. I made no haste, willing to savor the moment, thinking of
even greater triumph to come. I had planned it so carefully. I didn't know,
then, that I was simply stupid to think that I could buy their love and
respect. Oh, they accepted my gifts. They accepted them.

"And now," I said, "for the hunters, for the men of my familyтАж" I
reached into my pile of treasures and brought out the prearranged veins of
the dragon and, with gasping and speculation, distributed one length to
each man of the family.

"A dragon?" Strabo asked, his eyes wide.

"I have not forgotten the family head," I said. "My father presented
your father with the tribe's greatest treasure. I can do no less than match
his generosity." So saying, I pulled out a necklace of dragon's gut, a match
for the one my father had given the elder Strabo. I hung it around Strabo's
neck. He beamed and fingered it. The family was hooting in rhythm with
Seer's beats. The sounds hung in the still summer air. I glowed with pride.