"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 30 - Symbol of Terra" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

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Symbol of Terra by E. C.
Tubb

Chapter One

Dumarest saw the movements as he made his way along the valley;
small flickers of red which could have been the flirt of a scarlet wing, the
nodding of a bloom, the glow of reflected sunlight from a gleaming leaf.
Facile explanations and none of them true; a bird would have risen, there
was no wind to stir a flower and the sunlight streamed high to leave the
valley in shadow.

Halting, he plucked a leaf and chewed it as he studied the terrain.
Above and before him, monstrous against the sky, the bulk of a mountain
reared in rugged splendor its natural beauty now enhanced by the glowing
colors of sunset. At its base time and weather had conspired to form a
deep, wedge-shaped declivity, flanked with steep inclines fringed with
shrubs and stunted trees; vegetation which swept down to soften the bleak
outlines of dirt and stone and to cover the floor with flowered sward.

An artifice of man; the ground had been carefully leveled and graded,
the plants set with calculated design to form a haven of beauty in which
birds could dwell and exotic flowers fill the air with their heavy perfume.
Faint in the distance came the tinkle of running water.

Dumarest threw down the pulped leaf, catching another glimpse of red
as he resumed his progress. Higher this time, but on the same side of the
valley. An enemy or a watchful guardian but one lacking experience in
remaining hidden. Or one who wanted to be seen so another could remain
invisible.
 A possibility but he doubted it. The vegetation was too still and his
sharpened senses would have warned him of lurking danger. Steadily he
moved on down the valley to where the sides closed in to meet the rock of
the mountain. A great door pierced it, made of massive timbers now
closed and firm. Windows flanked it, rising high like a multitude of dark
and wary eyes. Above them the sunlight painted swaths of ruby and gold,
orange and amber, pink and vibrant chrome.

"Hi there!" Dumarest lifted his voice in a shout. "Is anyone at home?"

His words flattened against the rock to fade and become lost in the
tinkle of water coming from a stream rilling to one side. A chain hung