"Arkady & Boris Strugatsky - Hard to be a god" - читать интересную книгу автора (Strugatski Arkady)

friend's eyes.
Anka placed two fingers in her mouth and gave forth with a piercing
whistle.
And they entered the forest.
It was a pine wood, with sparse vegetation. Their feet skidded
over the
slippery, needle-covered soil. The slanting sun rays glittered
between the
straight tree trunks, and golden spots danced on the ground. The air
smelled
of resin, the nearby lake, and strawberries. Somewhere, far above
them, an
invisible lark was warbling.
Anka walked ahead. She carried her crossbow in one hand, and
with the
other reached now and then for the strawberries that occasionally
peeked
out, as red as blood, from among the foliage. Anton marched behind
her with
the solid battle gear of Marshal Totz slung over his shoulder. The
quiver,
filled with mighty battle arrows, rhythmically banged against the
seat of
his trousers with every step. He looked at Anka's neck: it was
deeply
tanned, and the vertebrae jutted out like little knobs. Once in a
while he
turned around and looked for Pashka, who had disappeared; only the
red fez
flashed from time to time in the bright sunlight. Anton imagined
Pashka
prowling silently among the pine trees, his air rifle held in

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Arkadi and Boris Strugatski. Hard to be a god

firing
position, his lean face with the hooked nose pointing forward
like some
predatory animal Pashka crawling through the underwood. But the
forest knows
no mercy. A challenge--and you must react at once, thought Anton.
He was
just about to duck--but Anka was walking right in front of him,
and she
might turn around any moment Wouldn't he look silly then!
Anka tamed around and asked:
"Did you sneak away real quietly?"
Anton shrugged his shoulders. "Nobody sneaks away noisily!"
"Well, I did. I guess I made some awful noise," said Anka