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

He was thinking about the New Isles.

But she shook her head, a little embarrassed perhaps, but also taking some
pleasure from his confusion.

No one else was speaking just then, and the intestine of a worm was a very quiet
place. It was easy to eavesdrop and to be heard whenever you spoke. In quick succes
three young men offered possible destinations, picking little cities set on the auxiliary
trailsтАФeach man plainly wishing that this womanтАЩs destination was his own.

тАЬNo,тАЭ she told them. тАЬNo. And IтАЩm sorry, but no.тАЭ

Other passengers began to play the silly game, and to her credit, the woman
remained cheerful and patient, responding immediately to each erroneous guess. The
great worm began to shake around them, its muscular body twisting as it pulled off ont
of the side trails. Suddenly there was good reason to hurry the game along. The young
were leaving here; didnтАЩt they deserve a useful hint or two?

тАЬAll right,тАЭ she said reasonably. тАЬIтАЩll remain on this trail until IтАЩm done.тАЭ Then she
closed her book with a heavy thump, grinning as she imagined her final destination.

тАЬLeft-of-Left?тАЭ somebody shouted.

тАЬWeтАЩve already guessed that,тАЭ another passenger complained.

тАЬWhere else is there?тАЭ

тАЬDoes anybody have a map?тАЭ

Jopale stood up. When their worm was young and quite small, holes had been c
through its fleshy sides, avoiding the major muscle groups. Each hole was fitted with
progressively larger rubber plugs, and finally a small plastic window that looked as if it
carved from a cold fog. Through one of those windows, Jopale could see the tall build
the city and their long shadows, plus the high clear sky that was as close to night as an
he had ever known. What a journey this had been, and it wasnтАЩt even finished yet. Not
first time, Jopale wished he had kept a journal. Then when there was timeтАФonce he w
living on the New Isles, perhapsтАФhe would write a thorough account of every awful thin
had happened, as well as his final triumphs.

A dozen travelers were now examining their maps, calling out the names of tiny
places and abandoned cities. There was a time when people lived in the Tanglelands
points beyond, but that had been years ago. Only the oldest maps bothered to show th
one-time destinations. A young man, very tall and shockingly thin, was standing close t
womanтАФtoo close, in JopaleтАЩs mindтАФand he carefully listed a string of places that ex
nowhere but on a sheet of yellowed paper and faded ink that he held up to the window
light.

тАЬYes,тАЭ said the woman, just once.

But the tall man didnтАЩt notice. He kept reading off names, pushing his finger along