"A. E. Merritt - The Moon Pool" - читать интересную книгу автора (Merritt A. E)

possible from Nan-Tauach during their absence. Half-exasperated, half-amused I
watched them go.
"No work could be done without them, of course, so we decided to spend the days
of their absence junketing about the southern islets of the group. We marked
down several spots for subsequent exploration, and on the morning of the third
day set forth along the east face of the breakwater for our camp on Uschen-Tau,
planning to have everything in readiness for the return of our men the next day.

"We landed just before dusk, tired and ready for our cots. It was only a little
after ten o'clock that Edith awakened me.
"'Listen!' she said. 'Lean over with your ear close to the ground!'
"I did so, and seemed to hear, far, far below, as though coming up from great
distances, a faint chanting. It gathered strength, died down, ended; began,
gathered volume, faded away into silence.
"'It's the waves rolling on rocks somewhere,' I said. 'We're probably over some
ledge of rock that carries the sound.'
"'It's the first time I've heard it,' replied my wife doubtfully. We listened
again. Then through the dim rhythms, deep beneath us, another sound came. It
drifted across the lagoon that lay between us and Nan-Tauach in little tinkling
waves. It was musicЧof a sort; I won't describe the strange effect it had upon
me. You've felt itЧЧ"
"You mean on the deck?" I asked. Throckmartin nodded.
"I went to the flap of the tent," he continued, "and peered out. As I did so
Stanton lifted his flap and walked out into the moonlight, looking over to the
other islet and listening. I called to him.
"'That's the queerest sound!' he said. He listened again. 'Crystalline! Like
little notes of translucent glass. Like the bells of crystal on the sistrums of
Isis at Dendarah Temple,' he added half-dreamily. We gazed intently at the
island. Suddenly, on the sea-wall, moving slowly, rhythmically, we saw a little
group of lights. Stanton laughed.
"'The beggars!' he exclaimed. 'That's why they wanted to get away, is it? Don't
you see, Dave, it's some sort of a festivalЧrites of some kind that they hold
during the full moon! That's why they were so eager to have us keep away, too.'
"The explanation seemed good. I felt a curious sense of relief, although I had
not been sensible of any oppression.
"'Let's slip over,' suggested StantonЧbut I would not.
"'They're a difficult lot as it is,' I said. 'If we break into one of their
religious ceremonies they'll probably never forgive us. Let's keep out of any
family party where we haven't been invited.'
"'That's so,' agreed Stanton.
"The strange tinkling rose and fell, rose and fellЧЧ
"'There's somethingЧsomething very unsettling about it,' said Edith at last
soberly. 'I wonder what they make those sounds with. They frighten me half to
death, and, at the same time, they make me feel as though some enormous rapture
were just around the corner.'
"'It's devilish uncanny!' broke in Stanton.
"And as he spoke the flap of Thora's tent was raised and out into the moonlight
strode the old Swede. She was the great Norse typeЧtall, deep-breasted, moulded
on the old Viking lines. Her sixty years had slipped from her. She looked like
some ancient priestess of Odin.