"Eric Frank Russell - Heav'n, Heav'n" - читать интересную книгу автора (Russell Eric Frank)

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HEAV'N HEAV'N
Eric Frank Russell




He swungwide the cast-iron doors, peered into the fire-clay tunnel, and drew a deep breath. It was like
lookinginto the business end of a spaceship. The doors shouldhave opened upon heat and thunder and
beyond the tun- nel the stars. A shuddering in the floor. Silver buttons upon his jacket, little silver comets
on his collar andshoulder straps.

"So!" rasped a voice. "Always you open the doors thenpose like one paralyzed. What is dumfounding
about anoven?"

The uniform with its buttons and comets faded away,leaving him dressed in soiled white overalls. The
floor was creaky but firm. The stars had gone as if they hadnever been.

"Nothing, Monsieur Trabaud."

"Attention then! Prepare the heat as you have beenshown."

"Yes, Monsieur Trabaud."

Taking an armful of fragrant pine branches from the nearby stack, he shoved them between the doors,
useda long iron rake to poke them to the back of the tunnel. Then another bundle and another. He
picked from the floor a dozen small, sticky pinecones, tossed them one by one in among the packed
branches. Then he contem-plated the result. A rocket primed with cones and needles.Buthow absurd.

"Jules!"

"Yes, Monsieur Trabaud."

Snatching hurriedly at pine-branches, twigs and tinylogs, he stuffed them between the doors until the
tunnelwas full. That was done. Everything was ready.

The ship required only the starting spark. Eagle eyes high in the bow must watch for the ground staff to
scurry clear of the coming blast. Then the touch of askilled, experienced finger upon a crimson button.
Afterthat a howl from below, a gigantic trembling, a slow up-ward climb becoming faster, faster, faster.

"Name of a dog! Now he is transfixed yet again. ThatI should be afflicted with such a dreamer."

Brushing past him, Trabaud thrust a flambeau of blaz-ing paper into the filled oven, slammed shut the
doors. He turned upon the other, his heavy black eyebrowsfrowning. "Jules Rioux, you are of the age
sixteen. Yes?"