"A. E. Merritt - Dwellers in the mirage" - читать интересную книгу автора (Merritt A. E)

for the migration led by Odin and the other Aesir which had ended in
the colonization of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Admittedly I was a
throwback to my mother's stock of a thousand years ago. There was no
reason why I should not also be a throwback in other recognizable ways
to the ancient Uighurs--if they actually were the original Norse.

But the practical consideration was that I was headed for trouble. So
was every other member of our party. He urgently advised going back to
the old camp where we would be among friendly tribes. In conclusion he
pointed out that, since we had come to this site, not a single Mongol,
Tartar or any other tribesman with whom I had established such pleasant
relations had come near us. He sat down with a glare at Fairchild,
observing that this was no palmist's advice but that of a recognized
scientist.

Well, Fairchild apologized, of course, but he over-ruled Barr on
returning; we could safely wait a few days longer and see what
developed. Barr remarked morosely that as a prophet Fairchild was
probably a total loss, but it was also probable that we were being
closely watched and would not be allowed to retreat, and therefore it
did not matter. .

That night we heard drums beating far away, drumming between varying
intervals of silence almost until dawn, reporting and answering
questions of drums still further off.

The next day, at the same hour, along came the same troop. Their leader
made straight for me, ignoring, as before, the others in the camp. He
saluted me almost with humility. We walked back together to my tent.
Again the cordon was thrown round it, and my second lesson abruptly
began. It continued for two hours or more. Thereafter, day after day,
for three weeks, the same performance was repeated. There was no
desultory conversation, no extraneous questioning, no explanations.
These men were there for one definite purpose: to teach me their
tongue. They stuck to that admirably. Filled with curiosity, eager to
reach the end and leam what it all meant, I interposed no obstacles,
stuck as rigorously as they to the faatter in hand. This, too, they
seemed to take as something expected of me. In three weeks I could
carry on a conversation in the Uigher as well as I can in English.

Barr's uneasiness kept growing. "They're grooming you for something!"
he would say. "I'd give five years of my life to be in your shoes. But
I don't like it. I'm afraid for you. I'm damned afraid!"

One night at the end of this third week, the signalling drums beat
until dawn. The next day my instructors did not appear, nor the next
day, nor the day after. But our men reported that there were Uighers
all around us, picketing the camp. They were in fear, and no work could
be got out of them.