"Russell, Eric Frank - Symbiotica" - читать интересную книгу автора (Russell Eric Frank)

our helmets."

He got them. These Martians were so conditioned by the
three pounds pressure of their native planet that anything
thicker and heavier irritated their livers, assuming that they
had livers. That's why they had the use of the starboard
airlock in which pressure was kept down to suit their taste.
They could endure weightier atmosphere for a limited time,
but sooner or later they'd wax unsociable and behave as
though burdened with the world's woes.

We Terrestrials helped them clamp down their head-and-
shoulder pieces and exhaust the air to what they considered
comfortable. If I'd lent a hand with this job once I'd done it
fifty times and still it seemed as crazy as ever. It isn't right
that people should feel happier for breathing in short whiffs.

Jay Score lumbered lithely into the armoury just as I'd
got all the clients decorated like Christmas trees. He leaned
his more than three hundred pounds on the tubular barrier
which promptly groaned. He got off it quickly. His eyes
shone brightly in a face as impassive as ever.

Shaking the barrier to see if it was wrecked, I said, "The
trouble with you is that you don't know your own strength."

He ignored that, turned his attention to the others and
told them, "The skipper orders you to be extra careful. We
don't want any repetition of what happened to Haines and
his crew. Don't fly below one thousand feet, don't risk a
landing elsewhere. Keep the autocamera running, keep your
eyes skinned and beat it back here the moment you discover
anything worth reporting."

"All right, Jay." Molders swung a couple of spare ammo
belts over an arm. " We'll watch our steps."

They traipsed out. Soon afterwards the lifeboat broke
free with a squeaky parody of the Marathon's deep-throated,
sonorous drumming. It curved sharply through the green
light, soared over huge trees and diminished to a dot.
Brennand returned, stood by the port and watched the boat
vanish.

"McNulty's as leery as an old maid with a penitentiary
out back," he remarked.

"He has plenty of reasons. And he has all the explaining
to do when we arrive home."