"Nick Pollotta - That Darn Squid God" - читать интересную книгу автора (Pollotta Nick)

but few actually broke. Sadly, there was always a significant number of expeditions that encountered
nothing more exciting than fetid jungles, smarmy natives, and dull animals that were so patently stupid that
they would wander directly in front of you and politely wait while you dug the old .577 Martini-Henry
bolt-action out of your haversack and did them the favor of blowing out their brains. But those were tales
hardly worth repeating.
Proceeding quickly down the center passageway, Professor Einstein turned left at a suit of Spanish
armor and entered the Great Hall. No exaggeration had been used to name the room, as it was a good
three hundred paces long, its oak beam ceiling an arrow flight away. The four'n square wood floor was
dotted with a hundred islands of India rugs and velvet smoking chairs, while in the center of the room, a
tiered Italian fountain quietly burbled and splashed. Lining the walls were mammoth bookcases containing
over a million leatherbound tomes, most of them first editions, or handwritten journals. High above this
grandeur on the second story balcony was a beautifully sculptured bronze bust of Marco Polo, the patron
saint of explorers, dutifully keeping watch over his modern-day students.
Crowding around a blazing fireplace, a group of club members was surrounding a display table.
Placed prominently on that scarred expanse of dark oak was a small wooden ship, barely a foot in
length. A single low cabin was in the middle of the deck of the tiny vessel. No sails or masts were visible,
and the rudder was broken.
"By god, Carstairs," Lord Danvers laughed from underneath a bushy Royal British Marine
moustache. "You'll have to do better than that!"
"Rather," Dr. Thompkins snorted, dipping his red nose once more into a half-empty whiskey glass.
"Balderdash, I say. Violates the unwritten law. Noah's Ark, indeed."
In righteous indignation, Lord Benjamin Carstairs rose to his full height, and no hat was necessary for
him to tower over the other members.
In cold scrutiny, Prof. Einstein could see the fellow must be over six feet tall, and maybe two
hundred pounds in weight, with not an ounce on fat on the heavily muscled, almost Herculean, frame. The
giant was dapper in a three-piece suit of a brown worsted material that perfectly complemented his stiff
white shirt and striped Harvard tie. His lantern jaw was painfully clean-shaven, while the pale brown hair
and blue eyes clearly announced a Saxon heritage.
Oh well, nobody's perfect, the Norman-descended Einstein observed wryly.
"I stand on my earlier statement, sirs," Lord Carstairs said calmly, resting a tanned hand on the little
craft. "You have seen my journals and read my analysis. This ship was found on the peak of Mt. Ararat,
hidden in a stratified gully just below the snow line. It is made of 4,000-year-old gopher wood and
sealed with crude pitch. To scale, it is of the proper dimensions, and perfectly matches the description of
the craft in the Book of Genesis, chapters six through ten. I believe that it was constructed by Noah Ben
Lamech, as a working model, before he built the actual sea-going ark itself."
Once more, guffaws filled the air and some rude soul added a juicy American raspberry.
"Good evening, gentlemen," Professor Einstein said loudly, interrupting the brouhaha.
In prompt response, the boisterous crowd stopped making noise and turned smartly about.
"Felix, old boy!" Baron Edgewaters shouted, his bushy beard appearing to weigh more than his
prominent belly. "Excellent timing as always. We've got a real wowser for you this time."
"Lad claims to have found a relic off of Noah's Ark, by gad!" Lord Danvers chortled, taking another
healthy gulp. "Thinks he can fool us like Thomson did in '74 with his 'continent under Antarctica' theory.
Haw!"
"How wonderful," Einstein snorted, dismissing the matter with a gesture. "He found Noah's Ark. My
heartiest congratulations. But I have even more pressing news to convey."
"I said a model, not the ark itself, sir," Carstairs corrected primly.
The professor shrugged. "Whatever you wish. It is of no consequence."
"Indeed? And what could be more important than this?" Lord Danvers demanded, stroking his
moustache. "The end of the world?"
Eagerly opening his mouth to speak, Prof. Einstein was cut off by Lord Carstairs.