"Leinster, Murray - The Fifth-Dimension Tube UC" - читать интересную книгу автора (Leinster Murray)

Чwho was deathly white and grimЧand the bearded Councilor.
УIТ been givinТ Сem the dope,Ф said Jacaro easily. УWe got the whip hand now. We got gas masks, we got guns just the same as you have, anТ we got the women.Ф
УYou havenТt ammunition,Ф said Tommy evenly, Уor damned little. Your men brought down one ship, and stopped. If you had enough shells, would you have stopped there?Ф
Jacaro grinned.
УYou got arithmetic, Reames,Ф he conceded. УThatТs so. But
ЧIТm sayinТ it againЧwe got the women. Your girl, for one! Now, how about throwinТ in with me, you anТ the professor?Ф
УNo,Ф said Tommy.
УIn a coupla months, RahnТll be runninТ this planet,Ф said Jacaro blandly, Уand IТm runninТ Rahn! I didnТt know how easy the racketТd be, or IТdТve let Yugna alone. IТdТve come here first. Now get it! Rahn runninТ the planet, with a couple guys runnmТ Rahn anТ passinТ down through a Tube any little thing we want, like a few million bucks in solid gold. AnТ Rahn anТ the other cities for kinda country homes for us anТ our friends. All the women we want, good liquor, anТ a swel]. time!Ф
УTalk sense,Ф said Tommy, without even contempt in his tone.

J ACARO snarled.
УNo sense actinТ too big!Ф But the snarl encouraged Tommy, because it proved Jacaro less confident than he tried to seem. His next change of tone proved it. УAw, hell!Ф he said placatingly. УThis is what IТm figurinТ on. These guys ainТt used to fighting, but they got the stuff. They got gases that are hellroarinТ. They got ships can beat any we got back home. Figure out the racket. A coupla big Tubes, thatТll let a shipЧmaybe foldedЧgo through. A fleet of Сem floatinТ over NТYork, loaded with gasЧthat white stuff yТ can steer wherever yТ want it. Figure the shake-down. We could pull a hundred million from Chicago! We cТd take over the whole United States! Try that on yТ piano! Me, King Jacaro, King of America!Ф His dark eyes flashed. УIТll give yТ Canada or Mexico, whichever yТ want. Name yТ price, guy. A coupla months organizinТ here, buildinТ a big Tube, then. . .
TommyТs expression did not change.
УIf it were that easy,Ф he said drily, Уyou wouldnТt be bar-
gaining. IТm not altogether a fool, Jacaro. We want those women back. You want something weТve got, and you want it badly. Cut out the oratory and tell me the real price for the return of the women, unharmed.Ф
Jacaro burst into a flood of profanity.
УIТd rather Evelyn died from gas,Ф said Tommy, Уthan as your filthy Ragged Men would kill her. And you know I mean it.Ф He switched to the language of the cities to go on coldly: УIf one woman is harmed, Rahn dies. We will shoot down every ship that rises from her stages. We will spray burning thermit through her streets. We will cover her towers with gas until her people starve in the gas masks theyТve made!Ф
The lean man in the tunic of Rahn snarled bitterly: УWhat matter? We starve now!Ф
Tommy turned upon him as Jacaro whirled and cursed him bitterly for the revealing outburst.
УWe will ransom the women with food,Ф said Tommy coldlyЧ and then his eyes flamed, Уand thrash you afterwards for fools!Ф

HE made a gesture to the Keeper of Foodstuffs. It was unconsciously an authoritative gesture, though the Keeper of Foodstuffs was in the state of affairs in Yugna the head of the Council. But that old man spoke deliberately. The man from Rahn snarled his reply. And Tommy turned aside as the bargaining went on. He could see Evelyn down below, a tiny speck of khaki amid the rainbow-colored robes of the other women. This had been a savage expedition to rescue or to avenge. It had deteriorated into a bargain. Tommy heard, dully, amounts of unfamiliar weights and measures of foodstuffs he did not recognize. He heard the time and place of payment named: the gate of Yugna, the third dawn hence. He hardly looked up as at some signal one of their own ornithopters slid below and the three ambassadors of Rahn prepared to go over the side. But Jacaro snarled out of one corner of his mouth.
УThese guys are takinТ each otherТs words. Maybe thatТs all right, but IТm warninТ you, if thereТs any double-cros sinТ. . .
He was gone. The Keeper of Foodstuffs touched TommyТs shoulder.
УOur flier,Ф he said slowly, Уwill make sure our women are as yet unharmed. We are to deliver the foods at pur own city gate, and after the women have been returned. Rahn dares not keep them or harm them. We of Yugna keep our word. Even in Rahn they know it.Ф
УBut they wonТt keep theirs,Ф said Tommy heavily. УNot with a man of Earth to lead them.Ф

HE watched with his heart in his mouth as the ornithopter alighted near the assembled women of Yugna. As the three ambassadors climbed out, he could hear the faint murmur of voices. The men of Yugna, under truce, called across the landing stage to the women of their own city, and the women replied to them. Then the crew of the one grounded freighter arrived on the landing stage and the flapping flier rose slowly and rejoined the fleet. Its crew shouted a shamefaced reassurance to the flagship.
УI suppose,Ф said Tommy bitterly, УweТd better go backЧif youТre sure the women are safe.Ф
УI am sure,Ф said the old man unhappily, Уor I had not agreed to pay half the foodstuffs in Yugna for their return.Ф
He withdrew into a troubled silence as the fleet swept far from triumphantly for him. Denham had not spoken at all, though his eyes had blazed savagely upon the men of Rahn. Now he spoke, dry-throatedly:
УTommyЧEvelynЧФ
УShe is all right so far,Ф said Tommy bitterly. УSheТs to be ransomed by foodstuffs, paid at the gates of Yugna. And Jacaro bragged heТs running RahnЧand theyТve got gas masks. WeТd better be ready for trouble after the women are returned.Ф
Denham nodded grimly. Tommy reached out and took one of the black tablets from the man beside him. He began to draw carefully, his eyes savage.
УWhatТs that?Ф
УThereТs high-pressure steam in Yugna,Ф said Tommy coldly. УIТm designing steam guns. Gravity feed of spherical projectiles. A jet of steam instead of gunpowder. TheyТll be lowvelocity, but we can use big-calibre balls for shock effect, and with long barrels they ought to serve for a hundred yards or better. Smooth bore, of course.Ф
Denham stirred. His lips were pinched.
УIТll design a gas mask,Ф he said restlessly, Уand Smithers and I, between us, will do what we can.Ф

THE air fleet went on over the waving tree-fern jungle in an unvarying monotony of bitterness. Presently Tommy wearily explained his design to the bearded Councilor who, with the quick comprehension of mechanical design apparently instinctive in these folk, grasped it immediately. He selected three of the six-man crew and passed TommyТs drawings to them. While the jungle flowed beneath the fleet they studied the sketches, made other drawings, and showed them eagerly to Tommy. When the fleet soared down to the scattered landing stages, not only was the design understood but apparently plans for production had been made. It did not take the men of the Golden City long to respond.
Tommy flung himself savagely into the work he had taken upon himself. It did not occur to him to ask for authority. He knew what had to be done and he set to work to do it, commanding men and materials as if there could be no question of disobedience. As a matter of fact, he yielded impatiently to an order of the Council that he should present himself in the Council hall, and, since no questions were asked him, continued his organizing in the very presence of the Council, sending for information and giving orders in a low tone while the council deliberated. A vote was taken by the voting machine. At its end, he was solemnly informed that, though not a native of Yugna, he was entrusted with the command of the defense forces of the city. His skill in armsЧas evidenced by his defeat of the fleet of RahnЧand his ability in commandЧwhen he met the gas-mask defense of Rahn with a threat of starvation
Чmoved the Council to that action. He accepted the command almost abstractedly, and hurried away to pick gun emplacements.

WITHIN four hours after the return of the fleet, the first steam gun was ready for trial. Smithers appeared, sweat-streaked and vastly calm, to announce that others could be turned out in quantity.
УThese guys have got the stuff,Ф he said steadily. УInstead oТ castinТ their stuff, they shoot it on a core ~in a melted spray. They ainТt got steel, anТ copperТs scarce, but they got some alloys that are good anТ tough. OneТs part tungsten or IТm crazy.Ф
Tommy nodded.
УTurn out all the guns you can,Ф he said. УI look for fighting.Ф
УYeah,Ф said Smithers. УMiss EvelynТs still all right?Ф
УUp to three hours ago,Ф said Tommy grimly. УEvery three hours one of our ships lands in Rahn and reports. We give the Rahnians their stuff at our own city gates. IТve warned Jacaro that weТve mounted thermit-throwers on our food stores. If he manages to gas us by surprise, nevertheless our foodstuffs canТt be captured. TheyТve got to turn over Evelyn and cart off their food before they dare to fight, else theyТll starve.Ф
УButЧuhЧthereТre other cities they could stick up, ainТt there?Ф