"John Norman - Gor 23 - Renegades of Gor" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norman John)

the hilt now before my left shoulder, under the cloak. I kept one hand, from
beneath my cloak, on the side of the wagon. In this way I was less likely to
stumble in the darkness, and the cold, driving rain. The other hand, my right, held
my cloak about my neck. My pack was in the wagon.
To my right, in the line of traffic moving south, I suddenly heard cursing and the
startled, protesting bellowing of a tharlarion. There were shouts. There was a
creaking of wood, and the slick squeak of an engaged, leather-lined brake shoe
pressing against the iron rim of a wheel. тАЬJump!тАЭ cried someone. There was then a
sound of sliding, and then, after a moment, that of a wagon tipping heavily into
mud. The tharlarion, probably thrown from its feet, was squealing in its harness.
I pulled my pack from the wagon I was trekking beside (pg.9) and, feeling about,
locating the side of the next wagon moving south, felt around it, and went to the
side of the road. Another tharlarion moved past me. I reached out and felt its wet
scales. In another flash of lightning I saw the wagon in the ditch, tipped on its
side, its canvas-covered, roped-down load bulging against the restraining cover,
the tharlarion also in its side, lying tangled in its harness, its feet flailing, its long
neck craning about.
A man thrust past me, holding an unshuttered dark lantern beneath his cloak. Rain
was pouring over the brim of his felt hat. Two others were behind him. They
slipped down the side of the ditch. тАЬThe axle is broken,тАЭ said one of the men to
the driver. The driver had another fellow with him, too. I stood on the road, at its
edge. I felt about with my foot. There were missing stones there. That was
probably where the wheel had missed the road. There, I supposed, had loosened,
given the heavy traffic and the storm. The wagon, it seemed, had slipped down the
embankment, dragging the beast after it. I stayed where I was for a moment. It
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 23 Renegades of Gor


seemed to me odd that three men, one with a dark lantern, should be so quickly
upon the scene.
тАЬBeware,тАЭ cried the driver through the rain to the men below me, beside the
wagon. тАЬI carry a Home Stone in this wagon.тАЭ
The three men looked at one another, and then backed away. They would not
choose to do business with one who carried a Home Stone, even though they were
three to two. It was as I had speculated. There were road pirates. Possibly the
stones had been deliberately loosened.
тАЬGentlemen,тАЭ I called down to them. тАЬLift your lantern.тАЭ
They looked upward. I let my cloak fall to the sides so that they could see the
scarlet of my tunic.
тАЬHold your places!тАЭ I called.
They stood where they were. I might pursue one. None of them cared to risk being
that one.
I slipped down the embankment to join them.
I tossed my pack to the side of the slope.
I took the lantern from the fellow in the broad-brimmed felt hat, and handed it to
the fellow of the driver. I did not draw my sword. It was not necessary.
(pg.10) тАЬUnharness the tharlarion,тАЭ I said to the driver. тАЬGet it on its feet.тАЭ
He went around to the front of the wagon.
I took the leader of the three men in hand. тАЬYou have a wagon nearby,тАЭ I said to