"S. M. Stirling - Sea of Time 01 - Island in the Sea of Time 484" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stirling S. M)

Yankees and phlegmatic by inclination and raisingтАж but
everyone was coming real close about now. He looked up. If he
thought it'd do any good, he'd be inclined to start screaming
himself. The dome of fire had been there all night, hanging over
the town, over the whole island, like the face of an angry God.
Every church on the island was jam-packed, but at least those
people weren't causing any harm and might be doing some good.

"The phone to the mainland's out," he went on. "Radio and TV
are nothing but static; the airport can't get through either. The
last planes from Hyannis and Boston didn't arrive. Now why
don't you all go home and get some sleep. If things aren't back to
normal in the morning, we'llтАФ"
 A collective shout that was half gasp went up from the crowd.
The stars were back. There was no transition this time; one
minute the dome of lights was there, and the next it wasn't. He
suddenly realized that a sound had accompanied it, like very
faint frying bacon, noticeable only when it was gone.

The crowd's gasp turned to a long moan of relief.

"тАФwe'll take further measures," he went on. "And we'll all try
not to do anything that will make us feel damned silly in the
morning, won't we?"

He could feel the tension in the crowd ease, like a wave easing
back from the beach. People were laughing, talking to their
neighbors, slapping each other on the back, even
huggingтАФthough he'd bet that those were coofs. A few were
crying in sheer reaction. Cofflin himself breathed a silent prayer
of thanks to a God he didn't believe should be bothered with
trivialities. Everything's all right, he thought, looking up at the
infinitely welcome stars. His gaze sharpened. Mebbe so. Mebbe
not.

"So why don't you all go home now?" he went on to the people.
"It'sтАФ" he looked at his wristтАФ"two-thirty and I'm plenty tired."

The crowd began to break up. George came up, holding his
cell phone. "Geary wants to know if we still need help," he said.

"Ayup," Cofflin said. The assistant blinked surprise. "Son,"
Cofflin went on, "don't say a word to anyone else, but take a
gander up there."

He nodded skyward. The younger man looked up. "Nothing
but stars, Chief," he said. "And I'm glad to see them, I'll tell you
that."

"Ayup. But take a look at the moon, George."