"John Norman - Gor 06 - Raiders of Gor" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norman John)

Ka-la-na wood.
The women of rence growers, when in their own marshes, do no veil
themselves, as is common among Gorean women, particularly of the cities.
Moreover, they are quite capable of cutting rence, preparing it, hunting for
their
own food and, on the whole, of existing, if they wish it, by themselves. There
are
few tasks of the rence communities which they cannot perform as well as men.
Their intelligence, and the work of their hands, is needed by the small
communities. Accordingly they suffer little inhibitiion in the matters of
speaking
out and expressing themselves.
Ho-Hak reached down and unwrapped the leather from the yellow bow of
supple Ka-la-na. The roll of sheaf and flight arrows spilled out to the woven
mat
that was the surface of the rence island.
There were gasps from two or three of the men present. I gathered they
had seen small straight bows, but that this was the first long bow they had
seen.
Ho-Hak stood up. The bow was taller than several of the men present.
He handed the bow to the blondish girl, she with blue eyes, who had been
instrumental in my capture.
тАЬString it,тАЭ said he to her. Angrily she threw the marsh gants from her
shoulder and took the bow.
She seized the bow in her left had and braced the bottom of it against the
instep of her left foot, taking the hemp cord whipped in silk, the string, in
her
right hand. she struggled.
At last, angrily, she thrust the bow back into the hands of Ho-Hak.
Ho-Hak looked dow at me, the large ears inclining toward me lightly. тАЬThis
is the peasant bow, is it not?тАЭ he asked. тАЬCalled the great bow, the long
bow?тАЭ
тАЬIt is,тАЭ I said.
тАЬLong ago,тАЭ said he, тАЬin a village once, on the lower slopes of the Thentis
range, about a campfire, I heard sing of this bow.тАЭ
I said nothing.
He handed the bow to the fellow with the headband of pearls of the Vosk
sorp bound about his forehead. тАЬString it,тАЭ said Ho-hak.
The fellow handed his marsh spear to a companion and turned to the
bow. He took it confidently. Then the look of confindence vanished. Then his
face reddened, and then the veins stood out on his forehead, and then he cried
out in disgust, and then he threw the bow back at Ho-Hak.
Ho-Hak looked at it and then set it against the instep of his left foot,
taking the bow in his left hand and the string in his right.
There was a cry of awe from about the circle as he strung the bow.
I admired him. He had strength, and much strength, for he had strung the
bow smoothly, strength it might be from the galleys, but strength, and superb
strength.
тАЬWell done,тАЭ said I to him.
Then Ho-Hak took, from among the arrows on the mat, the leather bracer