"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 10 - Jondelle" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

"You are kind."

"Not kind, selfish. You give this place strength and IтАФ" She
broke off, then resumed in a more casual tone. "I am a doctor
and do not want to see my work wasted. You are ready to eat?"

There were steaks, thick and almost raw, seared on beds of
charcoal, served with eggs and mounds of butter. He ate and
slept and woke to eat again, a high-protein diet designed to
restore lost energy and to replace the fat consumed during the
past few months. In two days he was on his feet, taking long
walks over the fields and working at laborious tasks in order to
tone muscle and sinew. And with him, almost constantly, was the
boy.

He was very solemn, dressed in dark brown pants and shirt,
thick boots on his small feet, and a loop of beads hung around
his neck. They were large, each the size of a small egg, brightly
colored, and strung on a length of wire with the strong metal
knotted between each bead. Seeds, thought Dumarest, the
product of some exotic plant, attractive to the eye and amusing
to a child. Yet at times it was hard to think of Jondelle as a child.
His words were too precise, his manner too adult.

"How do you make sure the blade hits in the same place every
time?" he asked as he watched Dumarest chop a log. "When I
tried to do it, I hit all over the place."

"You aim with the haft of the ax," said Dumarest. "The point
near your hands. The blade follows."

"Can you throw an ax as you can a knife?"

Dumarest glanced at a trunk lying several yards to one side.
He hefted the ax, feeling its balance, then threw it with a sudden
release of energy. The blade bit deeply into the wood.

"I wish I could do that," said the boy. "Will you teach me?"

"You can't be taught. You can be shown, then the rest is up to
you. It's a matter of balance and judging distance. That and
plenty of practice."

"The knife, then. Will you help me to learn how to throw a
knife? To use one?"

"Your father should do that."

"Elray isn't my father. He married Makgar, but that is all."