"(novel) (ebook) - Perry Rhodan - Atlan 03 - Pale Country Pursuit" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

"Over there!" Fratulon pointed to our right.
I couldn't make out anything; even his eyes were sharper than those of younger men. No doubt he knew what signs to look for.
"You're welcome to trade places with me," I told him irritably after awhile.
"I wouldn't think of it!" he retorted. "Farnathia's admiration would be lost on me if I gave it the master's touch."
"But she does admire you!" crowed Ice Claw mournfully. The thought of falling into the ice-cold water of the lake had been a shock to him. He was ready to start crying out his fears again.
I aligned our course with the target objective ahead and steered straight toward it. After awhile Fratulon calmly made an announcement.
"Let's hope the snowstorm will have let up by morning. It's bad news if you have to drive when you're blind."
"Snowstorm?" asked Farnathia. "What storm?"
"The one that's coming up now as a prelude to the night. For us it's an advantage because it will cover our tracks. At least in most places. After all it wouldn't be sporting of us not to leave just a few clues here and there-otherwise how would the poor Kralasenes know where to look for us?"
It was Fratulon's way of making us all burst out into roaring laughter-a trait which had gained him fame in all the taverns, caravansaries and arenas he had ever visited.
We reached the great rock formation just as the last light faded from the sky. The Pale Land greeted the night with the howls of the upcoming storm.
"Atlan!"
"Yes, Fratulon?"
"Take the portable lights and a gun and open the rear hatch. I'll back this crate into the cave. If any scanders come out of the cave, shoot first and ask questions later."
I unstrapped myself. "What's a scander?" I asked a moment or two later when I jumped out into the snow.
"You'll know when you see them," the bearded one assured me in a dry tone of voice.
I drew the long cable for the spotlights out of the cable drum and went stamping through the knee-high snow. Across my chest was the rifle. The two handspots lit up my immediate surroundings, their light shafts drifting before me like pale wandering phantoms among the tree trunks and casting long dark shadows behind the snow-encrusted boulders.
"Straight ahead!" roared Fratulon from the driver cab.
He proceeded to manoeuvre the vehicle slowly and carefully while the multiple wheels and the tractor chains made a jumbled clearing in the snow. Meanwhile I continued as directed. Masses of snow broke off from the low-hanging branches and covered my shoulders Finally, after another 30 steps or so, the spotlights illuminated the entrance to the cave.
"OK, I found it!" I shouted above the noise of the whining turbine and the thundering wheels and chains.
Slowly the snow car thrust backwards toward me. I went on to the cave entrance. Above us arched the great rock pinnacle which really did seem to represent the contours of an upraised fist. Giant icicles hung down from the rocky walls, their needle points aiming at our heads and the roof of the automobile. If one of those missiles should break loose-! I turned with a shout.
"Fratulon-wait!"
The giant wheels braked to a stop with a squeal. Fratulon shoved his upper torso through the open cab window just as the smokestack belched a black cloud and a tongue of flame, scattering sparks and smoke among the white branches above.
"What's the matter, Atlan?"
I used the chalk-white beams of the spotlights to point upward. The bright light sparkled in a thousand reflections from the yard-long icicles. "If the snow ghosts ever get the idea..." I began.
"Alright! Shoot that stuff down-but get out of the way when you do!"
"I'll give it a try!"
I took a few steps backwards but apparently we had been overtaken by our local nemesis. Suddenly several icicles began to ring like bells. One of them cracked and swung back and forth momentarily, after which it shot downward vertically. It hit the snow with a sharp thud and broke into pieces. Far above on the rock we heard shrill laughter. I bent down to place the grips of the two spotlights in the snow, and then I raised my gun. The first shot cracked out of the barrel, striking the base of the biggest and longest of the icy stalactites. It burst asunder in a veritable hail of glittering splinters. But from both ends of the long gallery the hanging barbs now broke loose without my having to shoot them down.
"The snow ghosts! Get your spotlights on them!" shouted Sawbones.
I fired twice more and then a yard-wide hole gaped in the curtain of ice above. I leapt backwards into deep snow, grabbed a spotlight and aimed it upward. I caught a fleeting glimpse of a vague shape that made a gymnastic swing across the cliff-wall and then disappeared. The echo of my shot came back to us, then faded away. The snow car's machinery clanked softly and a stillness of night gradually pervaded the scene.
"They've gone," I announced.
"Not for good," responded Fratulon. "I'm moving on in!"
While I sought to calm my nerves I picked up the lights again, hung the rifle over my shoulder and stamped through the snow and broken shards of ice toward the cave entrance again. Sawbones followed me at a walking pace with the car. We arrived at the entrance and moved in a few yards but then the exhaust stack touched the ceiling.
"Stop!"
I shone the light into every corner of the cave as far as I could see. Even here there were animal tracks on the ground and the long brown-needled fragments of foliage that had been dragged in. There were some animal droppings here and there and a few small skeletons. With some hesitation I pressed onward but no wild beasts appeared to attack us. I came to a stop when I saw that I was at the end of the cave.
"No scanders, Atlan?" called Fratulon as he helped the girl down from the cab. It sounded almost as though he were disappointed.
"I feel like I'm missing something!" I answered sourly.
The three of us met at the entrance. Fratulon had idled down the machine so that it merely provided warmth and could supply a small amount of power. I set down the spotlights but kept my rifle. The howling and whistling of the wind seemed to amplify itself in the cave entrance, creating an organ-like sound. As the first snow flurries came and I saw the heavy flakes settling down between the trees I knew we'd be spending only a short night here.
"Well, what now?" I asked Fratulon.
He struck a fist against his battered armour. "We eat. Farnathia will take care of that, won't you, girl?"
She smiled at us as she leaned against my shoulder. The unaccustomed strain of the journey was evident in her face. I was sorry for her but was not able to change what was. We could only try to make things easier for her here.
"I could even heat up some tea," she suggested willingly.
"Excellent!" said Sawbones in his rumbling voice. "We'll stay here till the first light of dawn. I'll take the first watch. Then it'll be your turn, Atlan. Portable spotlights, rifle and your dagger handy, right?"
I nodded. "I get the message. Do the snow ghosts fight at night?"
We were helping Farnathia to get back into the cab. Ice Claw crouched under a mountain of furs and stared at us with widened eyes. Nothing could be seen of him but his face. Apparently he sensed no danger of melting away under all those heavy coverings-or at least it hadn't occurred to him yet.
"There are no rules," Fratulon reminded me. "That's the only rule when you're crossing the Pale Land. On our way to the stronghold we'll still have to face a few adventures. Adjover and Kermant Valley are only half-way stations."
I waited until nobody could hear us and then asked him: "Do you know the way, Fratulon?"
"Yes, as I've told you before-very well. I know all routes that lead to the base. After all, a fat old man like me has to have some certainties in all the unpredictable vicissitudes of life!"
I laughed. "If we only get there in one piece!" I said. "Then it will be time for hand-clapping!"
He went out again and took a turn of inspection around the snow car, which was parked in a favourable position. Although it was not completely sheltered inside the cave it was still largely protected from the cutting storm and blasts of snow. It was also ready for moving out again at a moment's notice. It was ready to climb the slopes in the morning, provided it had a sufficient head of steam. The one who had the watch would also have to take care of keeping the fire going in the burner.