"Eric Frank Russel - Mechanistria" - читать интересную книгу автора (Russell Eric Frank)

being no menace in itself. They were after the crew. When the crew were all gone, they bothered
no more about the ship.тАЭ His eyes examined us speculatively. тАЬNobodyтАЩs thought of trying it, but
itтАЩs possible that if youтАЩre cornered and stand perfectly motionless, they might leave you alone.
Yes, they might at that! But if you move, theyтАЩre after you forthwith!тАЭ
тАЬI wouldnтАЩt care to try that no-motion stunt,тАЭ said a voice, dryly. тАЬGive me my feet every time.
And, mister, let тАШem be fast feet ! тАЬ
тАЬWonder if theyтАЩll attack again, before weтАЩve completed repairs,тАЭ I ventured.
ThereтАЩs no knowing. In my opinion, theyтАЩve a most curious mentality, if you can call it that,тАЭ
Jay went on. тАЬThey accept the familiar, are instinctively and immediately hostile towards the
unfamiliar. The vessel was assaulted solely because it was an unknown interloper. By this time itтАЩs
probably recorded in their communal mind as a known wreck of no particular consequence. It
wonтАЩt be until some passing machine reports unrecorded activity here that the communal mind may
connect it with our escape, ponder what should be done about it, then order that it be done.тАЭ
He glanced through a port toward dusty hills half shrouding the setting sun. тАЬWeтАЩd better move
fastтАЭ
Beating it outside we lent a hand at the tough job of resocketing the stern tubes. It was one heck
of a task, using an inadequate derrick and manhandling the great pipes into position. Meanwhile,
the Martians repaired the torn stern, their welding machines flashing brilliant blue. Engineers went
over the combustion-chambers, checking efficiency. Three more made good the damage done in
the nearby airlock, mostly by the pom-pom.
Quirk took the pinnace over to the far road while we were engaged in these tasks. The skipper
didnтАЩt want him to risk it, but he hung high in the clouds until the road was temporarily free of
traffic, shot down and found the missing lifeboat. Three of his crew brought it back together with
the bodies of HainesтАЩ two companions.
As far as we could tell from the available evidence, the lifeboat had landed openly and in
friendly fashion with Haines unaware that a waiting Pullman-thing had blanked out his radio
channel. Haines had been captured. The other two had gone down fighting and been left
motionless. We buried them in the evening along with Chief Andrews and the others.
Long after dark the blue flashes of Martian welders cut through the night and steady
hammerings sounded in various parts of the vessel. We were doing plenty to advertise ourselves
and no doubt about it, but risks have to be taken.
 All this time McNulty alternated between ill-concealed gloominess and high spirits. I reckon the
former was due to anticipation of another attack before we had finished. The latter might have
been because we were making ready to blow free, or perhaps because weтАЩd gained a cargo of
astonishing specimens in the shape of three wrecked globes and two smashed coffins. Our attackers
had taken away all the remaining junk or, to put it another way, had removed the rest of their
wounded from the battlefield.
At two oтАЩclock the following afternoon the tedious task was finished with a few loud hurrahs
and a few more sulphurous versions of the same. We blasted off. Down in the cargo-hold the
government experts gloated over our load. Soaring miles above the scene of recent troubles, we
reached the second city in the south, touched ground near its outskirts.
тАЬHere we should be a new factor.тАЭ remarked Jay Score.
тАЬLetтАЩs see how they take it.тАЭ
I timed it by my watch. The attack came in exactly thirty-seven minutes.
The local technique was different. First of all the reporters came along, carefully inspected us
with many skitterings around then hastened back to the city. Next, a dozen Pullman-sized gadgets
waddled up, aimed their discs at us and bathed the entire vessel in their rays. Steve Gregory
immediately shot out of his room complaining that his radio had gone haywire. He illustrated the
trouble by violently oscillating his brows.
Outside, more forces joined the futile disc-manipulators. Things with enormous hands, things