"Robert Reed - Good Mountain" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reed Robert)

voice, Master Brace explained to the several dozen passengers, тАЬFrom this station, yo
find your connecting trails to Hammer and Mister Low and Green Island. If WorldтАЩs Ed
happens to be your destination, good luck to you, and please, collect your belongings
following the signs to the security checkpoints. And if you intend to stay with this splen
worm, that means Left-of-Left will be our next stop. And Port of Krauss will be our last.

The caretaker had a convincing smile and a calm, steady manner. In his presenc
the innocent observer might believe that nothing was seriously wrong in the world.

тАЬBut if you do plan to stay with me,тАЭ Brace continued, тАЬyou will still disembark at
WorldтАЩs Edge, if only for the time being. My baby needs her rest and a good dinner, an
sheтАЩs got a few little sores that want cleaning.тАЭ Then he winked at the passengers and
began to walk again, totting his heavy bucket toward the stomachтАФup where the mock
were quartered. тАЬOr perhaps weтАЩll linger here for two little whiles,тАЭ the old man joked. тАЬ
donтАЩt expect significant delays, and you shouldnтАЩt let yourselves worry.тАЭ

Jopale sighed and sat back against the warm pink wall. He wasnтАЩt worried. Not
through any innate bravery, but because he had been scared for so long now, there wa
room left for new concerns. Or so it seemed at that particular moment. Indeed, since h
long sleep, Jopale had enjoyed a renewed sense of confidence. A guarded optimism
taking root. Calculating how far he had come, he saw that most of the world lay behind
now, while it wasnтАЩt too much of a lie to tell himself that Port of Krauss was waiting just
beyond the horizon.

Jopale even managed his own convincing smile, and watching his fellow
passengers, he found one other face that appeared equally optimistic.

A young woman, built small and just a little short of pretty, was sitting directly acr
from him. She must have come onboard during his last sleep. Maybe at Which-Way, h
reasoned. There was a fine university in that ancient city. Perhaps she was a student
heading home, now that every school was officially closed. Her bags were few and sm
heavy book filled her tiny lap. Her breathing mask looked as if it had never been used,
a powerful torch rode on her other hip. Her clothes were comfortable if somewhat
heavyтАФwool dyed green with thick leather pads on the knees and elbows. Bare black
wiggled against a traveling blanket. Her leather boots had tough rubber soles, which w
why she didnтАЩt wear them inside the worm. She looked ready for a long journey into co
darkness. But where could a young woman be going, and smiling about her prospects

There was one logical conclusion: Jopale caught the womanтАЩs gaze, nodded and
offered a friendly wink. тАЬAre you like me, miss?тАЭ he inquired. тАЬAre you traveling to Port
Krauss?тАЭ

She hesitated, glancing at the other passengers. Then she shook her head. тАЬIтАЩm
no,тАЭ she told him.

Jopale thought he understood.

тАЬBut youтАЩre traveling through Krauss,тАЭ he persisted. тАЬOn your way to some other
destination, perhaps?тАЭ