"MD Spenser - Humano Morphs 4 Air Morph One" - читать интересную книгу автора (Spenser M D)

Every time the phone rang, I was afraid it was going to be Dr. Cumberton telling me what kind of poison was in the lagoon. And then I was going to have to decide something Ч probably even do something.
If I found out that something in that lagoon was as deadly as it seemed, how could I stay quiet and do nothing? Lots more little birds might die.
And the lagoon was close to the river. What if the poison seeped through the soil and contaminated the Elkhorn? Who knew how many fish would die, and beavers and otters and even the deer that ambled shyly out of the forest and bent their heads to the river to drink?
Even if I wanted to ignore it, I knew that Freddy wouldn't allow that. His people, the Omaha, had been here before the white men. They had lived off the land and loved it too much to allow it to be poisoned, even by the science Freddy loved so much.
But I didn't want the responsibility of deciding how to solve the problem.
What was I going to do? I was just a kid! I couldn't save the world at my age!
And yet, I couldn't bear not knowing.
Maybe I had discovered some dark, amazing secret Ч something nobody else knew. I had to know what it was.
So I feared knowing, but I had to know. I didn't want the phone to ring, but I couldn't wait for it to ring. I was torn.
Time dragged. I couldn't concentrate on my classes or my homework. I started to feel really down and sad. I didn't have any energy. I slept a lot; it made time go faster.
It didn't help that the weather was gloomy, too. Every day was gray. Sometimes it rained, sometimes it poured, and sometimes the sky just looked dark and threatening.
I stopped off at Melvin's Barbershop on Main Street one afternoon after school, just to pass the time. All the old-timers there were talking about the weather.
Old Mel himself said he couldn't recall a spell of weather this wet since the great flood of 1927.
Then the rest of the old-timers started pointing at old stains on the sides of buildings and telling stories about water rising and cattle drowning and dogs howling on roofs.
That wasn't a particularly cheerful topic, so I headed for home.
It was a little windy outside and it was spitting rain. I walked hunched over, with my collar turned up and my hands in my pockets.
Halfway home, I ran into Freddy. We weren't hanging out together that much, because whenever we did, all either of us could think about was the lagoon and what Dr. Cumberton's tests might show.
"Hey, Melvin," Freddy said. "Any word?"
"Naw," I said. "Maybe she didn't really do any tests. She probably thought we were just pulling a prank. You know, I'm starting to think maybe I imagined the whole thing anyway."
Freddy looked at me with his dark, piercing eyes and said nothing.
"Yeah, you're right," I said. "I didn't imagine it, though I wish I had. I'll call you as soon as I hear anything."
We both assumed that Dr. Cumberton would call me rather than him. I had done most of the talking, and she had looked at me the most when she answered.
I guess she recognized my natural leadership abilities.
But sometimes, I was starting to think, leadership just wasn't any fun at all. It was starting to feel like a burden.
I wondered how the heck had I gotten myself into this mess anyway.
I got home, gloomily shoved the door open, and shuffled inside with my head hanging down.
The phone was ringing.
I jerked my head up and dived onto the phone like a football player diving onto a fumble.
"Hello?" I said.
"Melvin?" a woman's voice said. "This is Dr. Cumberton."
"Yes?" I panted. "Have you found out what's in the water?"
"I have," she replied.
"Well?" I spluttered. "What is it?"
"I would rather not divulge that information over the telephone," Dr. Cumberton said. "Would it be possible for you to come to my office? This is something I would rather tell you in person."


Chapter Fourteen

The sky was dark and threatening as Freddy and I set off for the college. By the time we arrived it had started to rain.
I had called Freddy, of course, as soon as I had heard from Dr. Cumberton. He had met me outside my house for the walk to her office.
Now, as we approached the college, we both walked hunched forward, fighting our way through the driving rain. Raindrops stung our faces and ran off the ends of our noses.
Finally, we reached the building. We navigated our way up the stairs and down the corridors, leaving wet footprints on the floor, until we saw the sign on the office door: "J.C. Cumberton, Ph.D."
Soaked to the skin and looking none too calm, we opened the door. The male secretary sat there at his desk. His eyes widened a little at the sight of us, I think, but secretaries are trained not to show surprise.
"Go right in, please," he said. "Dr. Cumberton is expecting you."
We looked like drowned rats, but Dr. Cumberton made no remark about our appearance. Actually, Dr. Cumberton looked none too calm herself.
"I'm glad you're here," she said, jumping up from behind her desk.
Her hair looked less neat than it had last time, and more unruly, as if she had been running her hands through it a lot. She looked more like Albert Einstein this time than she had the first time we met her.
Then I saw her eyes. A cold fear gripped my heart.
Her eyes looked a little wild and a little fearful Ч and not at all wise and calm and slightly amused, as they had before.
And if Dr. Cumberton felt a little fearful, then I felt downright terrified.