"Vance, Jack - Planet of Adventure 02 - Servants of the Wankh" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vance Jack)

the sky-raft. "Do you think we can make repairs?"
Anacho rubbed his long white hands together in distaste. "You must realize
that I have no such training in these matters."
"Show me what's wrong," said Reith. "I can probably fix it."
Anacho's droll face grew even longer. Reith was the living refutation of his
most cherished axioms. According to orthodox Dirdir doctrine, Dirdir and
Dirdirmen had evolved together in a primeval egg on the Dirdir homeworld Sibol;
the only true men were Dirdirmen; all others were freaks. Anacho found it hard
to reconcile Reith's competence with his preconceptions, and his attitude was a
curious composite of envious disapproval, grudging admiration, unwilling
loyalty. Now, rather than allow Reith to excel him in yet another aspect, he
hurried to the stern of the skyraft and thrust his long pale clown's face under
the housing.
The surface of the butte was scoured clean of vegetation, with here and there
little channels half-full of coarse sand. Ylin-Ylan wandered moodily across the
butte. She wore the gray steppe dwellers' trousers and blouse, with a black
velvet vest; her black slippers were probably the first to walk the rough gray
rock, thought Reith ... Traz stood looking to the west. Reith joined him at the
edge of the butte. He studied the dismal steppe, but saw nothing.
"The Green Chasch," said Traz. "They know we're here."
Reith once more scanned the steppe, from the low black hills in the north to
the haze of the south. He could see no flicker of movement, no plume of dust. He
brought out his scanscope, a binocular photo-multiplier, and probed the
gray-brown murk. Presently he saw bounding black specks, like fleas. "They're
out there, for a fact."
Traz nodded without great interest. Reith grinned, amused as always by the
boy's somber wisdom. He went to the sky-raft. "How go the repairs?"
Anacho's response was an irritated motion of arms and shoulders. "Look for
yourself."
Reith came forward, peered down at the black case, which Anacho had opened,
to reveal an intricacy of small components. "Corrosion and sheer age are at
fault," said Anacho. "I hope to introduce new metal here and here." He pointed.
"It is a notable problem without tools and proper facilities."
"We won't leave tonight then?"
"Perhaps by tomorrow noon."
Reith walked around the periphery of the butte, a distance of three or four
hundred yards, and was somewhat reassured. Everywhere the walls were vertical,
with fins of rock at the base creating crevices, and grottos. There seemed no
easy method to scale the walls, and he doubted if the Green Chasch would go to
vast trouble for the trivial pleasure of slaughtering a few men.
The old brown sun hung low in the west; the shadows of Reith and Traz and
Ylin-Ylan stretched long across the top of the butte. The girl turned away from
her contemplation of the east. She watched Traz and Reith for a moment, then
slowly, almost reluctantly, crossed the sandstone surface and joined them. "What
are you looking at?"
Reith pointed. The Green Chasch on their leap-horses were visible now to the
naked eye: dark motes hopping and bounding in bone-jarring leaps.
Ylin-Ylan drew her breath. "Are they coming for us?"
"I imagine so."
"Can we fight them off? What of our weapons?"