"Ardath Mayhar - The Little Finger on the Left Hand" - читать интересную книгу автора (Mayhar Ardath)

Anyway, she kept looking at me, those first few days, as if she could sense
what I was pretending not to feel.

Finally she asked, right out, тАЬHamp, youтАЩre hurting, arenтАЩt you?тАЭ

I had sworn never to lie to her. I meant it, too, so I nodded. тАЬSome.тАЭ

тАЬMore than some. What is it? The back? The neck? YouтАЩre so wrapped up I
canтАЩt tell whatтАЩs hurt the worst.тАЭ

I felt silly. I stared up at her, and she fixed me with those big brown eyes that
demand the truth and nothing but the truth. тАЬItтАЩs that little finger. The one thatтАЩs
gone. The thingтАЩs driving me wild . . . feels as if mice with saber-teeth are gnawing it
to rags.тАЭ

тАЬGhost pains,тАЭ she said, nodding. тАЬThey told me youтАЩd have them, but I
donтАЩt think they realize how bad it is for you. TheyтАЩre used to people having them in
entire arms and legs. I think they donтАЩt expect a small bit like a fin-ger to give you so
much trouble.тАЭ

That was probably true, but at least she knew and sympathized. That helped a
little. When it got so that I was trying to turn off the TV with thought waves, she
read to me or told me funny stories about her classmates and professors, or her
boss and the techs in the lab where she worked. It helped.

But when she was gone . . . after dark when the hospital quieted to its nightly
routine, there was nothing left in the world but me and the little finger on my left
hand.

Rog, the foreman of my crew, came in to see me, once they took the sign off
my door. I felt funny about asking him the question IтАЩd saved for him, but I finally
got up the nerve.

тАЬRog, that house. The one that fell in on me. Is it all the way down, yet?тАЭ

He looked at me sort of funny. тАЬNot yet. They got the contractor out there
and some engineers. ItтАЩs a funny deal тАФ if weтАЩd had any idea of problems, weтАЩd
have gone that route first and waited to start demolition. Maybe weтАЩd have used a
wrecking ball.

тАЬThat entire house is so unstable it stinks. And it looked solid as Gibraltar,
too. ItтАЩs still sitting there, only that one wall down so far. They canтАЩt figure why that
one fell or why the rest didnтАЩt come down, too. All you did was to chip out an
anchor-point for a towline, and whammo! Down she came, right on top of you. I
was never so scared in my life ... we thought youтАЩd had it. No joke!тАЭ

Hmm. That brought up my second question. тАЬDid anybody ever look around
for my finger? Could it be spotted in all that mess?тАЭ

He shook his head. тАЬThey wonтАЩt let us near the thing, now. Once you were