"William Tuning - Terro-Human - Fuzzy 04 - Fuzzy Bones" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tuning William)

"Sadie Thompson, and all that," Helton mused.

"Star-travel makes strange bedfellows," The Rev said. He rapped his knuckles
on the bar for two more drinks. "Who was that you were quoting a minute ago?"

"You mean, 'Tis a pity . . .'?" Helton asked.

The Rev nodded.

"John Ford," Helton said.

The Rev stroked his chin a moment. "John Ford the First Century screenplay
director?"

Helton smiled. "John Ford the obscure Elizabethan dramatist; Fourth Century
Pre-Atomic."

The Rev's eyebrows shot up. "Pretty exotic reading for a Gunnie."
Helton looked at him levelly. "I get a lot of time for reading," he said.

"So do I," The Rev said, "so do I."

Chapter 2

Helton smiled as he recalled the conversation, which took place only a few
days out from Terra.

He stood, now, with his feet apart, his hands clasped behind his back, and
rocked up and down on the balls of his feet. It was a habit of his which
tended to cause nervousness in units and commands he was auditing; one of the
principal assets in his trade was the ability to keep people just a little bit
off balance.

At one point in his life he had owned a pair of boots which squeaked softly as
he rocked on the balls of his feet. They had been among his most favored
possessions, because with them he could, at will, cause others to be visibly
disturbed in his presence.

There was no one to audit at the moment. There was not even another Terran
human on the first-class lounge deck; only Philip Helton standing in front of
the armor-glass observation screen, auditing the star-pinioned darkness of
space beyond the vessel-and rocking slightly on the balls of his feet.

One of the moons of Zarathustra was slowly traversing the screen, but at this
distance Helton couldn't tell which one. It might be Xerxes, the site of his
next assignment at the huge Navy base that occupied all of it; or it might be
Darius, where Terra-Baldur-Marduk Spacelines maintained Zarathustra's
commercial port.

The City of Asgard would dock on Darius in about two hours-just in time to