"Ursula K. LeGuin - Earthsea 4 - Tehanu" - читать интересную книгу автора (Le Guin Ursula K)

In a late afternoon of the first hot weather, the widowтАЩs old friend Lark came out from the village,
hurrying along the dusty lane. тАЬGoha,тАЭ she said, seeing her weeding in the bean patch, тАЬGoha, itтАЩs a bad
thing. ItтАЩs a very bad thing. Can you come?тАЭ
тАЬYes,тАЭ the widow said. тАЬWhat would the bad thing be?тАЭ Lark caught her breath. She was a heavy,
plain, middle-aged woman, whose name did not fit her body any more. But once she had been a slight and
pretty girl, and she had befriended Goha, paying no attention to the villagers who gossiped about that
white-faced Kargish witch Flint had brought home; and friends they had been ever since.
тАЬA burned child,тАЭ she said.
тАЬWhose?тАЭ
тАЬTrampsтАЩ.тАЭ
Goha went to shut the farmhouse door, and they set off along the lane, Lark talking as they went. She
was short of breath and sweating. Tiny seeds of the heavy grasses that lined the lane stuck to her cheeks
and forehead, and she brushed at them as she talked. тАЬTheyтАЩve been camped in the river meadows all the
month. A man, passed himself off as a tinker, but heтАЩs a thief, and a woman with him. And another man,
younger, hanging around with them most of the time. Not working, any of тАШem. Filching and begging and
living off the woman. Boys from downriver were bring- ing them farmstuff to get at her. You know how it
is now, that kind of thing. And gangs on the roads and coming by farms. If I were you, IтАЩd lock my door,
these days. So this one, this younger fellow, comes into the village, and I was out in front of our house,
and he says, тАШThe childтАЩs not well.тАЩ IтАЩd barely seen a child with them, a little ferret of a thing, slipped out
of sight so quick I wasnтАЩt sure it was there at all. So I said, тАШNot well? A fever?тАЩ And the fellow says, тАШShe
hurt herself, lighting the fire,тАЩ and then before IтАЩd got myself ready to go with him heтАЩd made off. Gone.
And when I went out there by the river, the other pair was gone too. Cleared out. Nobody. All their traps
and trash gone too. There was just their campfire, still smoldering, and just by it-partly in it-on the ground-
тАЭ
Lark stopped talking for several steps. She looked straight ahead, not at Goha.
тАЬThey hadnтАЩt even put a blanket over her,тАЭ she said.
She strode on.
тАЬSheтАЩd been pushed into the fire while it was burning,тАЭ she said. She swallowed, and brushed at the
sticking seeds on her hot face. тАЬIтАЩd say maybe she fell, but if sheтАЩd been awake sheтАЩd have tried to save
herself. They beat her and thought theyтАЩd killed her, I guess, and wanted to hide what theyтАЩd done to her,
so they-тАЭ
She stopped again, went on again.
тАЬMaybe it wasnтАЩt him. Maybe he pulled her out. He came to get help for her, after all. It must have
been the father. I donтАЩt know. It doesnтАЩt matter. WhoтАЩs to know? WhoтАЩs to care? WhoтАЩs to care for the
child? Why do we do what we do?тАЭ
Goha asked in a low voice, тАЬWill she live?тАЭ
тАЬShe might,тАЭ Lark said. тАЬShe might well live.тАЭ
After a while, as they neared the village, she said, тАЬI donтАЩt know why I had to come to you. IvyтАЩs there.
ThereтАЩs nothing to be done.тАЭ
тАЬI could go to Valmouth, for Beech.тАЭ
тАЬNothing he could do. ItтАЩs beyond. . . beyond help. I got her warm. IvyтАЩs given her a potion and a
sleeping charm. I carried her home. She must be six or seven but she didnтАЩt weigh what a two-year-old
would. She never really waked. But she makes a sort of gasping. . . . I know there isnтАЩt anything you can
do. But I wanted you.тАЭ
тАЬI want to come,тАЭ Goha said. But before they entered LarkтАЩs house, she shut her eyes and held her
breath a moment in dread.
LarkтАЩs children had been sent outdoors, and the house was silent. The child lay unconscious on LarkтАЩs
bed. The village witch, Ivy, had smeared an ointment of witch hazel and heal-all on the lesser burns, but
had not touched the right side of the face and head and the right hand, which had been charred to the bone.
She had drawn the rune Pirr above the bed, and left it at that.