"Chad Oliver - Blood's a Rover" - читать интересную книгу автора (Oliver Chad)

тАЬThe chiefтАЩs son? Yes.тАЭ
тАЬHow did he come out?тАЭ
тАЬNot well, Conan. He lost his woman, Loe, to one of the men we made wealthy; he has not been the
same since.тАЭ
тАЬWeтАЩre great people, Julio.тАЭ
тАЬYes.тАЭ
Conan Lang was silent then and the two men stood together in the warm evening air, watching the
great double sun float slowly down below the horizon as the long black shadows came marching up from
the far edge of the world.
Next morning, Conan Lang was off with the dawn on his final check. He pretty well knew what he
would findтАФJulio Medina was an experienced hand and his information was reliable. But it was always a
shock when you saw it for yourself. You never got used to it. To think that such a tiny, seemingly
insignificant thing could change a planet beyond recognition. A rice-fruitтАФ
It was already hot when he passed the native fields. Their ricefruit plants were tall and healthy, and
their irrigation channels well constructed. He shook his head and walked on to the native village.
Where the open, crude, friendly village had stood there was a great log wall. In front of the wall was a
series of deep and ugly-looking moats. Behind the wall, he could see the tops of sturdy wooden
buildings, a far cry from the huts of only a few short years ago. Conan Lang made no attempt at
concealment but walked openly up to the moats and crossed them on a log bridge. He stopped outside
the closed gate.
тАЬYou will remember me who walked through the flames,тАЭ he said loudly in the Oripesh tongue. тАЬYou
will open the gate for your brother as he would visit you.тАЭ
For a moment nothing happened, and then the gate swung open. Conan Lang entered the village.
The native guard eyed him with suspicion, but he kept his distance. Conan Lang noticed that he had a
bow by the log wall. There was nothing like constant warfare for the production of new weapons, he
reflected. Civilization was bringing its blessings to the Oripesh with leaps and bounds.
Conan Lang walked through the village unmolested, taking rapid mental notes. He saw storehouses
for ricefruit and observed slaves being marched off to work in the fields. The houses in the village were
strong and comfortable, but there was a tense air in the village, a feeling of strain. Conan Lang
approached a native and stopped him.
тАЬBrother,тАЭ he said, тАЬI would see your chiefs. Where are they?тАЭ
The native looked at him warily. тАЬThe Oripesh have no chiefs,тАЭ he said. тАЬOur king is in council.тАЭ
Conan Lang nodded, a sick feeling inside him. тАЬIt is well,тАЭ he said. тАЬRenтАФI would see him.тАЭ
The native jerked his thumb contemptuously toward the back of the village. тАЬHe is there,тАЭ he said.
тАЬOutside.тАЭ
Conan Lang moved through the village, watching, missing nothing. He went all the way through and
came out through the back wall. There, the old-style native huts baked in squalor under the blazing sun.
There was no log wall around them, although they were inside the moat system. A pig rooted around for
garbage between the huts.
тАЬSlums,тАЭ Conan Lang said to himself.
He walked among the huts, ignoring the fearful, suspicious eyes of the natives. He found Ren
preparing to go out into the fields. The chiefтАЩs son was thin. He looked tired and his eyes were dull. He
saw Conan and said nothing.
тАЬHello, Ren,тАЭ said Conan Lang.
The native just looked at him.
Conan Lang tried to think of something to say. He knew what had happenedтАФthe chiefs and their
sons had been so busy with ritual work for the tribe that they had lagged behind in the cultivation of the
new ricefruit. They had stuck to the old ways too long and their people had passed them by.
тАЬI can help you, my brother,тАЭ Conan Lang said softly. тАЬIt is not too late.тАЭ
Ren said nothing.