"Murray Leinster - Exploration Team" - читать интересную книгу автора (Leinster Murray)

contrasts of light and shadow everywhere.
тАЬOn ahead!тАЭ commanded Huyghens, waving. тАЬHup!тАЭ
He swung the bear-quarters doorshut. He moved toward the landing field
through the lane of lighted forest. The two giant male Kodiaks lumbered ahead.
Sitka Pete dropped to all fours and prowled. Sourdough Charley followed
closely, swinging from side to side. Huyghens came alertly behind the two of
them, and Faro Nell brought up the rear with Nugget following her closely.
It was an excellent military formation for progress through dangerous
jungle. Sourdough and Sitka were advance-guard and point, respectively, while
Faro Nell guarded the rear. With Nugget to look after, she was especially
alert against attack from behind. Huyghens was, of course, the striking force.
His gun fired explosive bullets which would discour
age even sphexes, and his night-sightтАФa cone of light which went on when he
took up the trigger-slackтАФtold exactly where they would strike. It was not a
sportsmanlike weapon, but the creatures of Loren Two were not sportsmanlike
antagonists. The night-walkers, for exampleтАФ But night-walkers feared light.
They attacked only in a species of hysteria if it were too bright.
Huyghens moved toward the glare at the landing field. His mental state
was savage. The Kodius Company station on Loren Two was completely illegal. It
happened to be necessary, from one point of view, but it was still illegal.
The tinny voice on the space phone was not convincing, in ignoring that
illegality. But if a ship landed, Huyghens could get back to the station
before men could follow, and heтАЩd have the disposal safe turned on in time to
protect those whoтАЩd sent him here.
But he heard the faraway and high harsh roar of a landing-boat
rocketтАФnot a shipтАЩs bellowing tubesтАФas he made his way through the
unreal-seeming brush. The roar grew louder as he pushed on, the three big
Kodiaks padding here and there, sniffing thoughtfully, making a perfect
defensive-offensive formation for the particular conditions of this planet.
He reached the edge of the landing field, and it was blindingly bright,
with the customary divergent beams slanting skyward so a ship could check its
instrument landing by sight. Landing fields like this had been standard, once
upon a time. Nowadays all developed planets had landing gridsтАФmonstrous
structures which drew upon ionospheres for power and lifted and drew down star
ships with remarkable gentleness and unlimited force. This sort of landing
field would be found where a survey-team was at work, or where some strictly
temporary investigation of ecology or bacteriology was under way, or where a
newly authorized colony had not yet been able to build its landing grid. Of
course it was unthinkable that anybody would attempt a settlement in defiance
of the law!
 Already, as Huyghens reached the edge of the scorched open space, the
night-creatures had rushed to the light like moths on Earth. The air was misty
with crazily gyrating, tiny flying things. They were innumerable and of every
possible form and size, from the white midges of the night and multi-winged
flying worms to those revoltingly naked-looking larger creatures which might
have passed for plucked flying monkeys if they had not been carnivorous and
worse. The flying things soared and whirred and danced and spun insanely in
the glare. They made peculiarly plaintive humming noises. They almost formed a
lamp-lit ceiling over the cleared space. They did hide the stars. Staring
upward, Huyghens could just barely make out the blue-white flame of the