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

trouble or were going looking for it, but rather that we believed in doing more than keeping our
fingers crossed.
With an amusingly squeaky blast the twelve-ton cylinder shot from the MarathonтАЩs mothering
bulk and curved skyward. It whined away to a pinpoint in no time, then it was gone.
Steve had reset the lifeboatтАЩs radiophone and now was in touch with it on four-twenty metres.
Biologist Haines was at the vesselтАЩs observation window doing the reporting.
тАЬSixty miles out and six miles up. Mountains ahead. WeтАЩre climbing.тАЭ Silence for a minute,
then, тАЬOver the top at twelve miles altitude. ThereтАЩs a long, straight, artificial-looking line cutting
the foothills on the other side. We are diving towards it, lower, lower . . . yes, itтАЩs a road!тАЭ
тАЬAnything using it?тАЭ yelped Steve, his brow-bushes snaking around.
тАЬNothing as far as we can see just yet. ItтАЩs in excellent condition. Not deserted, but seldom used.
Ah, another road over on the horizon, maybe forty miles away. WeтАЩre making for it now. Seems as
if . . . as if . . . there are shapes moving swiftly along it.тАЭ Another pause while his listeners danced
with impatience. тАЬBy heavens, there are dozens ---тАЬ
The voice blanked out completely. Nothing more came over the ether except a steady rustling
noise like that of dead leaves dancing in a random wind.
Frantically, Steve went over his receiver, adjusting, retuning, doing all he knew to bring back the
voice so suddenly gone from the air. But there was nothing, nothing except that persistent and eerie
whispering on four-twenty and the all-pervading uproar below two hundred.
The crew clamoured for the chance to take out a second boat. We had four of the little vessels as
well as the slightly larger and much faster pinnace. McNulty refused to let any more go.
 тАЬNo, men,тАЭ he said, his plump features unworried. тАЬOne bunch at a time is enough. The rest of
us will wait here. WeтАЩll stay put until morning to give that boat a chance to find us again. It may be
safe enough. Perhaps its radio has gone out of commission or some minor fault has developed
among its navigational instruments.тАЭ A glint came into his eyes. тАЬBut if itтАЩs not back by dawn
weтАЩre going to discover the reason why.тАЭ
тАЬ You bet!тАЭ came a murmur of many voices.
Thrum-thrum-thrum! The sound had a chance to be noticed during ensuing quietness. We now
realized that it had been drumming dully through the room for most of a minute but only then did it
register in our minds. A strange yet familiar sound, that steady thrumming--and it wasnтАЩt caused by
the returning lifeboat.
A crew never poured through the airlock as quickly as we did at that moment. Outside we stood
with our backs to the great curved shell of the Marathon and stared at the sky. There they were,
three, four, five of them: long, black rocketships flying in arrowhead formation.
Young WilsonтАЩs face lit up, he yipped, тАЬ Oh, lordy! тАЬ and produced a camera from nowhere. He
sighted it at the black things above.
None of us had been quick-witted enough to bring out binoculars, but Jay Score didnтАЩt need any.
He stood with his long legs braced apart, his big chest protruding, his head tilted back, his gleaming
orbs focused on the overhead spectacle.
тАЬFive,тАЭ he said. тАЬTen miles up, moving fast and still ascending. Either theyтАЩre painted dead
black or made of some very black metal. DonтАЩt resemble any design on Terra. Their stern tubes are
exposed instead of being sunk in the tail, and theyтАЩve even got fore and aft fins.тАЭ
He continued to watch long after I had developed a crick in the neck. Still thrumming faintly, the
five disappeared from sight. They had passed right over the Marathon without noticing it, blasting
at an altitude that made our reposing vessel less conspicuous than a dropped pin.
Kli Morg chirruped, тАЬTheyтАЩre not so far behind us after all. TheyтАЩve got rocketships, they
decapitate lobsters, and in all probability theyтАЩre instinctively hostile towards strangers. I can see
them offering us a big tentacle, yes, right in the masticatory orifice!тАЭ
тАЬHope for the best rather than expect the worst,тАЭ advised McNulty. He gazed around at his crew,
then at the sleek shape of the Marathon. тАЬBesides, weтАЩre a darned lot faster than anything limited to