"H. Beam Piper - The Space Viking" - читать интересную книгу автора (Piper H Beam)

shake hands with those who crowded around. Finally, the exit march started,
down the long walkway to the landing-stage, and the Duke and his party moved
away to the rear to prepare for the wedding feast at which everybody but the
bride and groom would celebrate. One of the bridesmaids gave Elaine a huge
sheaf of flowers, which she was to toss back from the escalator; she held it
in the crook of one arm and clung to his with the other.

"Darling, we really made it!" she was whispering, as though it were ton
wonderful to believe.

One of the news-cars-orange and blue, that was Westlands Telecast &
Teleprint-had floated just ahead of them and was letting down toward the
landing-stage. For a mo-

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ment, he was angry; that went beyond the outer-orbit limits of journalistic
propriety, even for Westlands T & T. Then lie laughed; today he was too happy
for anger about anything. At the foot of the escalator, Elaine kicked off her
gilded slippers-there was another pair in the car; he'd seen to that
personally-and they stepped onto the escalator and turned about. The
bridesmaids rushed forward, and began struggling for the slippers, to the
damage and disarray of their gowns, and when they were half way up, Elaine
heaved the bouquet and it burst apart among them like a bomb of colored
fragrance, and the girls below snatched at the flowers, shrieking deliriously.
Elaine stood, blowing kisses to everybody, and he was shaking his clasped
hands over his head, until they were at the top.

When they turned and stepped off, the orange and blue aircar had let down
directly in front of them, blocking their way. Now he was really furious, and
started forward with a curse. Then he saw who was in the car.

Andray Dunnan, his thin face contorted and the narrow mustache writhing on his
upper lip; he had a slit beside the window open, and was tilting the barrel of
a submachine gun up and out of it.



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He shouted, and at the same time tripped Elaine and flung her down. He was
throwing himself forward to cover her when there was a blasting multiple
report. Something sledged him in the chest; his right leg crumpled under him.
He fell.

He fell and fell and fell, endlessly, through darkness, out of consciousness.

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