"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 14 - Jack of Swords" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

"Help?" Cran almost sobbed in his disappointment. "With
mud up to our ankles and rain in our eyes? The storm will have
unsettled the beasts and they're bad enough at the best of times."
His voice rose to the edge of hysteria. "I thought we'd have a
chance but the luck is against us. Damn the luck. Damn it all to
hell!"

He cried out as Dumarest's hand slapped his cheek.

"Earl!"

"Control yourself." Dumarest freed the arm. "Get the others."

"You're going back?"
 "Just do as I say."

They came like ghosts, revealed in stark detail by the
intermittent flashes, the dirt which had stained faces and hands
gone now, washed away by the rain. Like Cran they wore rags,
torn and discarded garments salvaged from garbage, broken
shoes and naked feet wrapped in layers of rotting cloth. Their
hair, plastered close, accentuated their skull-like appearance.
Starving men who would be dead soon unless they obtained food.

Among them Dumarest looked solid, reassuring, his clothing
scuffed but whole, the gray plastic of tunic, pants and boots
gleaming with a wet slickness.

He said, "Cran, how far to the compound?"

"A mile, maybe less, butтАФ"

"This storm will help us. The guards will remain in shelter and
the lightning will be blamed for anything affecting the electronic
system. The animals will be together and easy to take. Before
dawn you'll all have bellies full of meat."

"Or be dead," said a man bleakly.

"Today, tomorrow, what's the difference?" said another. "I'm
willing to take a chance if Earl will lead us."

"I'll lead you," said Dumarest. "And there'll be no quitting. If
any man tries to leave I'll cut him down. Understand?" He
paused as thunder rolled and, as it faded, said, "We've no choice
and the storm will make it easy. Just keep down and merge with
the ground. Freeze if a light shines your way. Work as a unit and
we can't go wrong."

Words to stiffen their resolve, but a man had a question.