"Jean and Jeff Sutton - Alien From The Stars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Sutton Jean and Jeff)

"A monkey? You're nuts!"
"No, really, it was dressed in red."
"In red?" Tom hooted. "Man, you've flipped."
"I saw it," protested Harry. "Keep your eyes peeled. I almost knocked it
off."
"Sure it wasn't a kid or sumpin'?"
"Naw, it was a monkey, all right. Great big eyes."
"Watch out for Dude!"
Barlo followed their conversation as he scurried through the brush. The
hunters were no great threat; he could elude them easily enough. The dog was
another matter. The yelping sounded almost at his heels. Aware that he was
heading back toward the ship, he turned along the edge of an intersecting
ravine. To his dismay he glimpsed one of the hunters race into sight ahead of
him. In his mind Barlo clearly envisioned the path the hunter had taken, the
way the ravine curved. Now the hunter was in front of him, the dog close
behind. Where was the second hunter? He sent mind probes outward.
Without hesitancy he scrambled down to the floor of the ravine and raced
over the soft sand. Yelping, the dog followed. Barlo heard it crash through
the thick growth not far behind. He came to a place where the walls rose
steeply -- too steeply, he knew, for the dog to follow. Grasping the limb of
an overhanging tree, he pulled himself up until he was clear of the edge, then
ran out along another limb and dropped to the ground. Wham! Wham! Wham! The
thunder of a weapon echoed in his ears as small pellets tore the shrubbery to
shreds close to one side.
"Hey, Harry, it was a monkey," a voice shouted. "I just saw it. Dude
flushed it out of the gully."
"Where's it at now?"
"Headed back in your direction. Keep your eyes peeled."
"Man, I'd like to get that baby. Where's Dude?"
"In the gully."
With the shouting loud in his ears, Barlo took temporary sanctuary in a
thick pile of brush while he assessed his situation. The hunters were near the
edge of the ravine on either side of him. If he turned toward the higher
ground, he was almost certain to be seen, but neither could he remain where he
was. He heard the dog scrambling back along the floor of the gully.
"See anything, Tom?" The voice caused Barlo to crouch lower.
"Not yet. Keep watching."
"Think it really was a monkey?"
"Sure looked like one."
"I didn't see a tail. Call Dude, get him out of the gully."
"Here Dude, here Dude." A crackling came from the brush as the dog
scrambled up the side of the ravine, popping into view but a short distance
from Barlo. He was starting a cautious retreat when the animal spotted him and
loosed a series of short, sharp yelps.
"Dude's flushed him out," a voice shouted. Barlo reluctantly raised the
cylindrical tube, unlocked the safety, and pressed a button while moving the
barrel back and forth in short arcs. An invisible ray fired the dry brush
between him and the dog. The animal yelped frantically. A skein of smoke
curled into the sky.
"Hey, Tom, there's a fire," shouted Harry.