"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 13 - Eye of the Zodiac" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

Eye of the Zodiac
#13 in the Dumarest series

E.C Tubb


Chapter One


At night the sound was that of a monster, a feral roar which
rose to the skies and was carried on the wind, a hungry growling
interspersed with staccato explosions which thickened the air
and left an acrid taint. At day the monster was revealed as a
conglomeration of men and machines which tore into the flank
of a mountain, delving deep, gutting ancient stone and
pulverizing rock for the sake of the metal it contained.

A dual operation, the metal helping to pay for the pass and
tunnel which would link inhabited areas, a passage which would
rob the sea and sky of expensive and dangerous transport.

One day it would be completedтАФbut Dumarest had no
intention of seeing it. Already he had stayed on Tradum too long.

He stood by the door of the hut which housed fifty men,
looking towards the west, seeing the fabulous glory of the sunset.
Swaths of red and orange, pink and gold, streamers of purple
and emerald caught and reflected by the mist of scudding cloud
so that he seemed to be looking upward at the surface of some
incredible ocean.

A relaxing sight, something to ease the fatigue born of eight
hours continuous labor. Now he faced another shift as an extra
night-guard. Hard work but added pay. Soon, he would have
enough.
 "Earl?" He turned as someone called. "You out there, Earl?"

Leon Harvey, young, thin, his face old before its time. He
stepped from the hut, bunking, a towel over his arm. His face
brightened as he saw Dumarest.

"You should have woken me," he accused. "You know how
Nyther isтАФonce late on the job and you lose it."

"That could be a good thing."

"Why?" Stung, his pride touched, the youngster bridled.
"Don't you think I can take it?"

"Can you?"