"Andre Norton - Jern Murdock 02 - Uncharted Stars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norton Andre)

frozen. Nor didEet suggest any answer to this.I did gain enough courage to
bring out a hand beamer and flash it about us,only to gain disturbing
glimpses of machines scuttling hither and thitheracross a wide expanse of
floor. Nor were there any signs of human tenders.I was now afraid to dismount
from my carrier, not knowing whether the avoidrays of the various busy robos
would also keep them from running me down. Tothis hour I had always taken
the service department of a caravansary forgranted and such an establishment
as this I had never imagined.That the feeder seemed to know just where it was
going was apparent, for itrolled purposefully on until we reached a wall with
slits in it. The machinelocked to one of these and I guessed that the refuse
and disposable disheswere being deposited in some sort of refuse system. Not
only the feeder wasclamped there. Beyond was a sweeper, also dumping its
cargo.A flash of my beamer showed that the wall did not reach the roof, so
theremight be a passage along its top to take us out of the paths of the
rovingmachines-- though such a way might well lead to a dead end.I stood up
cautiously on the feeder, and Eet took the beamer between hisstubby pookha
paws. The bag was easy to toss to the top of the wall, myfurry companion
less so, since his new body did not lend itself well to suchfeats. However,
once aloft, he squatted, holding the beamer in his mouth,his teeth gripping
more easily than his paws.With that as my guide I leaped and caught the top of
the wall, though I wasafraid for a moment my fingers would slip from its
slick surface. Then Imade an effort which seemed enough to tear my muscles,
and drew my wholebody up on an unpleasantly narrow surface.Not only was it
narrow but it throbbed and vibrated under me, and I mentallypictured some form
of combustion reducing the debris dumped in, or else aconveyer belt running on
into a reducer of such refuse.Above me, near enough to keep me hunched on
my hams, was the roof of theplace. A careful use of the beamer showed me
that the wall on which Icrouched ran into a dark opening in another wall
met at right angles, as ifit were a path leading into a cave.For want of a
better solution I began to edge along, dragging my bag, mydestination that
hole. Luckily Eet did not need my assistance but balancedon his wide pookha
feet behind me.When I reached that opening I found it large enough to give me
standing roomin a small cubby. The beam lighted a series of ladder steps
bolted to thewall, as though this was an inspection site visited at
intervals by a humanmaintenance man. Blessing my luck, I was ready to try
that ladder, for theclanging din of the rushing machines, the whir of their
passing rung in myears, making me dizzy. The sooner I was out of their domain
the better.Eet's paws were not made for climbing, and I wondered if he would
loose thedisguise for the attempt. I had no desire to carry him; in fact I
did notsee how I could.But if he could release the disguise he was not
choosing to do so. Thus, inthe end, I had to sling the bag on my back by its
carrying strap and loosenmy tunic to form a sling, with Eet crawling
part-way down inside my collarat my. shoulders. Both burdens interfered
cruelly with my balance as I beganto climb. And I had had to put away the
beamer, not being convenientlyendowed with a third hand.For the moment all I
wanted was to get out of the dark country of therobo-servers, even though I
was climbing into the unknown. Perhaps I hadcome to depend too much on
Eet's warnings against approaching dangers. Buthe had not communicated with me
since we had taken transport on the feeder."Eet, what is ahead?" I sent that
demand urgently as I became aware of justwhat might lie ahead of