"E. E. Doc Smith - The Galaxy Primes" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

'Well, I won't. I never will. Besides, I'd probably kill too many people, besides the monster. No, 111 'port back to the
Main if anything attacks me. I'm chain lightning at that.'
'Do that, then. And if anything unusual happens give me a flash.'
Til do that. 'Bye, Clee.' She turned to the left; he walked straight on toward the business center, to resume his study at
the point where he had left off the evening before.
For over an hour he wandered aimlessly about the city receiving, classifying, and filing away information. He saw
several duels between guardians and yellow and green-bat monsters, to none of which he paid any more attention
than did the people around him. Then a third kind of enemy appeared - two of them at once, flying wing-and-wing -
and Garlock stopped and watched.
While they did not really closely resemble flying saber-toothed tigers, that was the first impression that leaped into
46
Oarlock's mind. Their bodies were black and yellow and sleek, like a tiger's, but they had almost man-like faces -
except for the sharp, beakish noses. They dived swiftly, on great gray wings, tiger's claws extended.
Two bow-legged guardians came leaping as usual, but one of them was a fraction of a second too late. That fraction
was enough. While the first guardian was still high in air, grappling with one tiger, the other swung on a dime - the
blast of air from his right wing buffeting people in the crowd below and knocking four of them flat - and took the
guardian's head off his body with one savage swipe of a frightfully-armed paw. Disregarding the carcass, both
attackers whirled sharply at the second guardian, meeting him in such a way that he could not come to firm grips
with either of them, and that battle was very brief indeed. More guardians were leaping in from all directions,
however, and the two tigers were forced to the ground and slaughtered.
Since six guardians had been killed, eight guardians marched up the street, dragging grisly loads. Eight bodies, friend
and foe alike, were dumped into a manhole; eight creatures squatted down and cleaned themselves meticulously
before resuming their various patrols.
Ten or fifteen minutes later, Garlock felt Lola's half-excited, half-frightened thought: 'Clee, do you read me?'
'Loud and clear."
'There's something approaching that's certainly none of my business - maybe not even yours."
'I'm coming," he sent, and with the thought he was beside her. 'Where?'
She pointed a thought. He followed it. Far away yet, but coming fast, was an immense flock of the winged tigers!
Lola licked her lips. 'I'm going home, if you don't mind."
'Go on.'
She disappeared.
'Jim!' Garlock thought. 'Where are you?'
'Observatory. Need me?'
'Yes. Bombing. Two point four microgram loads. Focus spot on my right - teleport in.'
'Coming in on your right.'
'And I on your left!' Belle's thought drove in as he had
47
never before felt it driven. Being a Prime, she did not need a focus spot and appeared only an instant later than did
James.
'Can you bomb?' Garlock snapped.
What do you think?' Belle snapped back.
A moment of flashing thought and the three Tellurians disappeared, materializing five hundred feet in the air, two
hundred feet ahead of the van of that horrible flight of monsters, drifting before it.
Belle got in the first shot. Not only did the victim disappear - a couple of dozen around it were torn to fragments and
the force of the blast staggered all three Tellurians.
'Damn it, Belle, cut down or get the hell out!' Garlock said sharply. 'I told you two point four micrograms, not
milligrams. Just kill 'em don't scatter 'em around all over hell's half acre. Less mess to clean up and I don't want you
to kill people down below. Especially I don't want you to kill us - not even yourself.*
'Sorry -1 guess I was a bit enthusiastic in my weighing.'
There began a series of muffled explosions along the front, each followed by the plunge of a tiger-striped body to the