"A. E. Van Vogt - The Rat & the Snake & Other Stories" - читать интересную книгу автора (Van Vogt A E)

pounding of my heart. Poisons surged into my stomach; gas formed and leaked up to my mouth
bringing a bitter taste. I had to fight to keep my breath steady.
And still I could see nothing. The dark fears ran their courses, and the first thought came that I
must have had a nightmare. I began to feel ashamed of myself. I mumbled:
"Who's there?"
No answer.
I climbed out of bed, and turned on the light. The room was empty. But still I wasn't satisfied. I
went out into the hall, then I examined the clothes closet and bathroom. Finally, dissatisfied, I
tested the window fastenings--and it was there I received my shock. Painted on the outer side of
the pane of one of the windows were the letters:
"The cat requests that you come to the circus."
I went back to bed so furious that I thought of having Silkey arrested. When I woke up in the
morning the sign was gone from the window.
BY THE TIME breakfast was over, my temper of the night had cooled. I was even able to feel a
pitying amusement at the desperate desire of Silkey to let his old acquaintances know what a big
shot he was. Before starting off to my morning classes at State, I looked under my bedroom
window. I found what looked like footprints, but they were not human, so I decided that Silkey
must have taken care to leave no tracks of his own.
At class, just before noon, one of the students asked me whether there was any good explanation
in biological science for freaks. I gave the usual explanation of variabilities, nutritional
deficiences[sic], diseases, frustration of brain development affecting the shape of the body, and
so on. I finished drily that for further information I would direct him to my old friend, Silkey
Travis, director of freaks at the Pagley-Matterson circus.
The offhand remark caused a sensation. I was informed that a freak at this circus had prompted
the original question. "A strange, cat-like creature," the student said in a hushed voice, "that
examines you with the same interest that you examine it."
THE CATAAAA
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5
The bell rang at that moment, and I was spared the necessity of making a comment. I remember
thinking, however, that people hadn't changed much. They were still primarily interested in
eccentricity whereas, as a scientist, the processes of normalcy seemed to me far more fascinating.
I still had no intention of going to the circus. But on the way home that afternoon I put my hand
in my breast pocket, and drew out the postcard with the photograph of Silkey on the front. I
turned it over absently, and read again the message that was on it:
"The interspatial problem of delivering mail involves enormous energy problems,
which effect time differentials. Accordingly,
it is possible that this card will arrive before I know who you are. As a precaution
I am sending another one to the circus with your name and address on it, and the
two cards will go out together.
"Do not worry too much about the method of delivery. I simply put an instrument
into a mail box. This precipitates the cards into the box on earth, and they will
then be picked up and delivered in the usual fashion. The precipitator then
dissolves.
The photograph speaks for itself."
It didn't. Which is what began to irritate me again. I jammed the card back into my pocket, halfminded
to phone up Silkey and ask him what the silly thing meant, if anything. I refrained, of
course. It wasn't important enough.
When I got out of bed the next morning, the words, "The cat wants to talk to you!" were
scrawled on the outside of the same window pane. They must have been there a long time.