"Dreamsnake" - читать интересную книгу автора (McIntyre Vonda N)

Merideth stopped nearby, holding the limp, empty waterskin, looking at the small herd rather than at Snake. УJesse has a gift with horses. Choosing them, training themЕ WhatТs wrong?Ф

УIТm sorry. I must have upset her. I had no rightЧФ

УTo tell her to live? Maybe you donТt, but IТm glad you did.Ф

УIt doesnТt matter what I tell her,Ф Snake said. УShe has to want to live herself.Ф

Merideth waved and yelled. The horses nearest the water shied away, giving the others a chance to drink. They jostled each other, draining the trough dry, then standing near it and waiting expectantly for more. УIТm sorry,Ф Merideth said. УThatТs all for now.Ф

УYou must have to carry a great deal of water for them.Ф

УYes, but we need all of them. We come in with water and we go out with the ore and the stones Jesse finds.Ф The bay mare put her head over the rope fence and nuzzled MeridethТs sleeve, stretching to be scratched behind the ears and under the jaw. УSince Alex came with us we travel with moreЕthings. Luxuries. Alex said weТd impress people that way, so theyТd want to buy from us.Ф

УDoes it work?Ф

УIt seems to. We live very well now. I can choose my commissions.Ф

Snake stared at the horses, who wandered one by one to the shady end of the corral. The vague glow of the sun had crept up over the edge of the wall, and Snake could feel the heat on her face.

УWhat are you thinking?Ф Merideth asked.

УHow to make Jesse want to live.Ф

УShe wonТt live uselessly. Alex and I love her. WeТd take care of her no matter what. But that isnТt enough for her.Ф

УDoes she have to walk to be useful?Ф

УHealer, sheТs our prospector.Ф Merideth looked at Snake sadly. УSheТs tried to teach me how to look and where to look. I understand what she tells me, but when I go out IТm as likely as not to find nothing but fused glass and foolТs gold.Ф

УHave you showed her your job?Ф

УOf course. We can each do a little of the otherТs work. But we each have a talent. SheТs better at my job than I am at hers and IТm better at hers than either of us is at AlexТs, but people donТt understand her designs. TheyТre too strange. TheyТre beautiful.У Merideth sighed, holding out a bracelet for Snake to see, the only ornament Merideth wore. It was silver, without stones, geometric and multilayered without being bulky. Merideth was right: it was beautiful, but it was strange. ФNo one will buy them. She knows that. IТd do anything. IТd lie to her, if it would help. But sheТd know. HealerЧУ Merideth flung the waterskin to the sand. ФIsnТt there anything you can do?У

УI can deal with infections and diseases and tumors. I can even do surgery that isnТt beyond my tools. But I canТt force the body to heal itself.Ф

УCan anyone?Ф

УNotЕ not anyone that I know of, on this earth.Ф

УYouТre not a mystic,Ф Merideth said. УYou donТt mean some spirit might cause a miracle. You mean off the earth the people might be able to help.Ф

УThey might,Ф Snake said slowly, sorry she had spoken as she had. She had not expected Merideth to sense her resentment, though she should have. The city affected all the people around it; it was like the center of a whirlpool, mysterious and fascinating. And it was the place the offworlders sometimes landed. Because of Jesse, Merideth probably knew more about them and the city than Snake did. Snake had always had to take the stories about Center on faith alone; the idea of offworlders was hard to accept for someone who lived in a land where the stars were seldom visible.

УThey might even be able to heal her in the city,Ф Snake said. УHow should I know? The people who live there wonТt talk to us. They keep us cut off out hereЧand as for offworlders, IТve never even met anyone who claims to have seen one.Ф

УJesse has.Ф

УWould they help her?Ф