"Laumer, Keith - Retief of the COTUC" - читать интересную книгу автора (Laumer Keith)

took a leisurely step toward the nunu tree,
slipped suddenly behind it. With a swift mo-
tion, he grasped a small, limber branch grow-
ing out at waist height on his side of the
two-foot bole, bent it down and pegged the
tip to the shaggy, porous bark, using the match-
sized dope stick to pin it in place. Then he
moved quickly off, keeping the tree between
himself and the unseen archer, to the conceal-
ment of a dense patch of shrubbery.

A minute passed; a twig popped. A bulky,
tattooed Tsugg appeared, a vast, dumpy fig-
ure clad in dirty silks, holding a short, thick,
recurved bow clamped in one boulderlike fist,
a quarrel nocked, the string drawn. The da-

30 Keith Laumer

coit tiptoed forward, jumped suddenly around
the tree. Finding his quarry fled, he turned,
stood with his back to the tree peering into

the undergrowth.

At that moment, the bent branch, released
by the burning of the dope stick, sprang out-
ward, ramming the astounded bowman in the
seat of his baggy green velveteen trousers.
The arrow smacked into the dirt at his feet as

he jumped, then stood rigid.

"Don't strike, sir!" he urged in a plaintive
tenor. <( 'Twas the older lads put me up to

it..."
Relief strolled forth from shelter, nodded

easily to the Tsugg, plucked the bow from his

nerveless grip.
"Nice workmanship," he said, inspecting the

weapon. "Groaci trade goods?"

"Trade goods?" the Tsugg said with a note
of indignation. "Just because yer partner has
a dirk at me back's no cause to make mockery
of me. I plundered it from the Five-eyes all