"E. E. Doc Smith - D'Alembert 10 - Revolt of the Galaxy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

It was late afternoon in this part of the world. Pias quickly oriented himself by the dim red sun
and started off in a southerly direction, toward Garridan. He moved as cautiously as he could,
trying not to leave too obvious a trail for his followers to spot, but speed was his primary
consideration. If Tas was as thorough about this line of defense as he was about the others, there
would be infrared and other sophisticated scanners that could spot his fleeing figure without the
need to look for broken branches to mark his passage. He wanted to be as far from the ship as
possible so they'd have to search an area with a large radius.
Because the plant life of Newforest took its energy from the rays of a red sun, the local
equivalent of chlorophyll was a substance that reflected back light most strongly in the red-
orange portion of the spectrum. As a result, much of the vegetation looked as though it were
stained with blood in the late afternoon light. Having grown up on Newforest, Pias gave no thought
to the eeriness of this scene as he pushed his way through the brush; his only concern was to get
away from the ship and the pursuit that would inevitably follow.
Small animals scattered before him as he ran, which was all to the good; the more movement there
was in the forest, the more it would confuse the enemy sensors. Pias heard the copters pass near
his position, and held still for a moment until they went by. The copters would go first to the
ship and search it for clues; failing to find any, they'd start a wide sweep of the area in an
effort to cut him off.
The forest was starting to thin out, and Pias realized he must be coming to its southern edge.
Beyond the woods would be open field and he dared not let himself be caught out there. Even at
night he'd be obvious to his adversaries' scanners.
As he came to the edge of the woods he paralleled the line of trees moving around toward the east
until he spotted a small farmhouse and barn a few hundred meters away. That looked like his best
bet. If he could reach that habitation, he could probably hide until much of the fuss had died
down. Then it would be merely a matter of taking the road into Garridan, pretending to be someone
from the country who was visiting the planetary capital for the first time. Tas's police would be
on the lookout for a smuggler, so he hoped he could make that story stick well enough to fool
them.
He edged through the woods until he came to the spot nearest the farm buildings. He could hear the
search copters circling again and knew they were looking for him, but they were way off to the
southwest; with any luck they wouldn't cover this area until he was well hidden. He checked to
make sure there was no one in the farmyard who could see him, then dashed across open ground until
he reached the side of the barn. He soon found an open door and slipped inside.
The barn was dark and smelled strongly of animals - of bullards, the slow-witted draft animals
that still pulled plows in the less technological rural areas, and of cartlies, the lighter,
faster animals that pulled wagons and carts for transportation. The animals rustled nervously as
they caught the scent of a strange human, but they sent up no alarm. Pias looked around and saw no
one. So far he was still safe.
He would have to stay here at least until after dark, possibly longer. It would all depend on how
vigorous a search the security forces made for the smuggler. He might have to spend the entire


file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...t%2010%20-%20Revolt%20of%20the%20Galaxy.txt (12 of 69) [12/29/2004 12:40:20 AM]
 file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/Doc%20E.%20...0Family%20d'Alembert%2010%20-%20Revolt%20of%20the%20Galaxy.txt

night and try to leave in the morning.
Pias moved quietly through the barn until he found a small compartment where harnesses and tools
were stored. Squeezing in, he folded himself up as comfortably as he could and tried to rest. He'd
done a lot of running already and might be called on to do some more; he might as well take
advantage of this respite while he could.