"Janet Kagan - Mirabile" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kagan Janet)

them. IтАЩm going to hate it if you tell me I have to pull тАЩem out because theyтАЩre about
to seed mosquitoes.тАЭ
And heтАЩd never forgive me either, I could tell.
тАЬWeтАЩll get a sample on the way back, Leo. If thereтАЩs a problem, IтАЩll see if I can
stabilize them for you.тАЭ He looked so surprised, I had to add, тАЬPractical is not my
only consideration. Never has been. тАШPrettyтАЩ is just fine, provided IтАЩve got the time
to spare.тАЭ
That satisfied him. He smiled all the way down to the edge of the water.
Two hands made light work of launching a boat and we paddled across to the
sheltered cove I had always favored. I tied the boat to a low branch that overhung
the water, dropped a naked hook into the loch, and leaned back. Leo did the same.
What I liked best about this spot, I think, was that it was the perfect view of the
ottersтАЩ playgroundтАФwithout disturbing the play. It also meant I didnтАЩt have to bring
along treats for the little beggars. Susan had been feeding them since she
wasтАФohтАФJenтАЩs age. TheyтАЩd grown so used to it that they hustled the tourists now.
I didnтАЩt believe in it myself, but as long as she didnтАЩt overdo it to the point they
couldnтАЩt fend for themselves I wasnтАЩt about to make a fuss. I think Susan knew that
too. She had a better grasp of the principles than most adults I knew, aside from
those on the team, of course.
The hillside and water were alive with the antics of the otters. Some rippled
snake-like through the water. One chased one of those king-sized dragonflies. Two
others tussled on the ridge and eventually threw themselves down the incline,
tumbling over and over each other, to hit the water with a splash.
Leo touched my arm and pointed a little to the side. He was frowning. I turned to
take it in and discovered there was an altercation going on, just below the surface of
the water. This one was of a more serious nature.
тАЬOdd,тАЭ I said, speaking aloud for the first time since weтАЩd settled in. He nodded,
and we both kept watching but there wasnтАЩt anything to see except the occasional
flick of a long muscular tail, the wild splash of water. A squeal of anger was
followed by a squeal of distress and the combatants broke off, one of them
hightailing it towards us.
I got only a glimpse as it passed us by but it seemed to me it was considerably
bigger than its opponent. Biggest otter IтАЩd seen, in fact. I wondered why it had run
instead of the smaller one.
The smaller one was already back at play. Leo shrugged and grinned. тАЬI thought
mating season was over,тАЭ he said. тАЬSo did she, considering how she treated him.тАЭ
тАЬAh,тАЭ I said, тАЬI missed the opening moves.тАЭ
We settled back again, nothing to perturb us but the otter follies, which brought
us to laughter over and over again. We trusted nothing would interrupt that by
tugging at our lines.
Shadow was beginning to lengthen across us. I knew we had another half hour
before it would be too dark for us to make our way easily back up to the lodge.
тАЬLeo,тАЭ I said, тАЬwant me to head in? Your way will be in shadows long before mine.тАЭ
тАЬStaying the night at the lodge. I promised Elly IтАЩd do some handiwork for her.
Besides, I could do with another of ChrisтАЩs meals.тАЭ
There was a stir and a series of splashes to our right, deep in the cove. That large
otter, back with friends. There were two troops of them in the loch now. I made a
mental note to make sure they werenтАЩt overfishing the shrimp or the trout, then I
made a second note to see if we couldnтАЩt spread the otters to another lake as well.
The otters were pretty firmly established on Mirabile but it never hurt to start up