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

"They call me Don Sarancha," grudgingly confessed Pashka. And
then he
began to recite: "And here lies, as you all can see, one
of his
accomplices."
"An infamous thug and murderer," Anton clarified. "But he
is known
never to do something for nothing. On whose behalf have you come
here to
snoop around?"
"Don Satarina the Pitiless has sent me," Pashka lied.
Anton spoke with contempt in his voice:
"This hand of mine cut the thread of Don Satarina's stinking
life on
the Square of the Heavy Swords just two years ago."
"Shall I pierce him with an arrow?" suggested Anka.
"Oh, I completely forgot," said Pashka quickly. "Actually,
I'm being
sent by Arata the Fair. He promised me one hundred gold pieces
for your

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Arkadi and Boris Strugatski. Hard to be a god

heads."
Anton slapped his knees.
"What a liar!" he shouted. "Do you believe for an instant
that Arata
would have anything to do with a swindler like you?"
"Maybe I'd better pierce him with an arrow after all?"
asked a
bloodthirsty Anka.
Anton laughed demonically.
"By the way," said Pashka, "you were shot in your heel. You
should have
collapsed long since from losing so much blood."
"Nuts!" countered Anton. "First of all, I've had a piece from
the bark
of the White Tree in my mouth the whole time; and, second, two
beautiful
barbarian maidens bandaged my wound."
The ferns began to move and Anka stepped out onto the path.
On her
cheek was a long scratch and her knees were smeared with earth and
lichen.
"It's about time we threw him into the swamp," she declared.
"If the
enemy won't surrender, he must be destroyed."
Pashka's arms dropped down and dangled at his sides.
"You don't stick to the rules of the game," he said to Anton.