"Theodore Sturgeon - Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" - читать интересную книгу автора (Sturgeon Theodore)

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea by Theodore Sturgeon


recirculatorsтАФ"those. You enter from below, there, that hatch, see it? and then it goes up through the
'roof'тАФa lock just forward of the conning tower."

And as they looked up at the sub, the small round hatch swung downward and ejected a pair of feet,
followed by the legs, torso and flaming red head of the young sailor who swung down out of the
Minisub, found himself standing in the midst of a great mound of high brass and a strange and lovely
woman. Her neat dark suit, their heavy loads of gold stripes and "scrambled eggs" on their caps,
their epaulettes and the achingly bright shine of their well-turned shoes, all contrasted noisily with
the redhead's sweat-stained, oil-spotted T-shirt, faded fatigues with one knee out, and knob-toed
safety shoes. The sailor gulped noisily and begged their pardon. Admiral Nelson cocked his head
and looked at the young man, Captain Crane smiled, it may or may not have been at the man's
discomfiture; in any case his eyes were off in the middle distance. True to his creed, the superior B.J.
Crawford was not aware that the inferior gob even existed. Dr. Hiller looked straight at the redhead,
cool and attentive, and the redhead, bulging his muscles against a dirty rag he held behind his back,
was apparently trying to build, with his knob-toed feet, a hatch to fall through.

"Take a look at this lad, B.J. He's Seaman Smith. Recognize him?" demanded Nelson.

Admiral Crawford's glance struck the redhead a glancing blow. "Should I?" he asked coldly.

Nelson chuckled. "Seems only yesterday you were bouncing him on your knees."

Crawford's frosty eyes swung around and got a fix on the bridge of Smith's nose. Suddenly he
snatched off his beautiful hat and slammed it cruelly against his knee. "Smith! Ol' Bricktop's son!
The spittin' image too!"

"His mother wrote me that he'd finished his hitch in the Navy, so I had him sign up with us on the
double."

"Well," said B.J., toning his voice down from bark to growl. He put his hat back on and put out his
hand. "Jimmy, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Minisub man, eh?"

"Yes, sir."

Crawford glanced aloft. "Mark VII, isn't it? Like it?"

"Handles like a dream, sir," said Smith enthusiastically. "I can't wait to wring her out under the ice."

Nelson began to move off, and said over his shoulder, "You will!"

Smith looked after him, bright-eyed. "Thank you, sir!"

Crawford punched the redhead's shoulder. "Good luck, kid."