"Vinge Vernor & William Rupp - Just Peace" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vinge Vernor)

тАЬLetтАЩs follow this gorge inland a bit,тАЭ said Quintero. тАЬFrom what I could see before we landed, it should
widen out to where we can do some blasting without risking an avalanche.тАЭ

тАЬAnything you say,тАЭ Nord replied indifferently. Chente watched the man silently as the other moved on
ahead. One way or another, this would not be a routine exploration.

==========

The New Providencians spent most of the afternoon setting off explosives in the slag. Their firecrackers
were bulky and heavy, and the work went slowly. The bombs didnтАЩt amount to more than half a ton of
TNT, a microscopically small charge to obtain any information about conditions within the planet.
Fortunately ChenteтАЩs instruments didnтАЩt measure mechanical vibrations as such, but considerably more
subtle effects. Even so he had to rely on coincidence counters and considerable statistical analysis to
derive a picture of what went on hundreds of kilometers below.

Toward evening the sky became overcast and it began to drizzle. Chente called off their work. In fact, his
survey was now complete, and his grim conclusions were beyond doubt. A stiff breeze kept anyone from
suggesting that they call down the Diligence. Even with perfect visibility, Oswald probably couldnтАЩt have
brought the airship in against that wind.

By the time they set up camp in a deep hollowтАФalmost a caveтАФbeneath the cliff face, they were all
thoroughly soaked. Nord put two of his men on watch at the entrance to the hollow, and the rest of the
party took to their sleeping bags.

As the hours passed, the rain fell more heavily, and from the west the steady hissing of the lava masked
nearly all other sounds. Abruptly, the cylinder that rested in ChenteтАЩs hand vibrated against his palm:
someone was tempering with his equipment. Chente raised his head and looked about the cave let. The
darkness was complete. He couldnтАЩt even see the sleeping bag he lay in. But now the years of training
paid off: Chente relaxed, suppressed all background noise and listened for nearby sounds. There! At
least one person was standing in his immediate vicinity. The fellowтАЩs breathing was shallow, excited,
Farther away, toward the equipment cache, he could now hear even fainter sounds.

Quintero slipped quietly out of the sleeping bag which he had prudently left unbuttoned and moved
toward the cavelet, entrance, lifting and lowering his feet precisely to avoid the irregularities he
remembered in the rocky ground. He probably would have got clear anyway, as the distant hissing and
the sound of rain covered whatever sounds he made. He didnтАЩt dare pick up any equipment, however; he
was forced to settle on what heтАЩd kept with him.

Twenty meters out into the rain, he turned and lay down behind a small, sharp hummock of lava. He
drew his tiny pistol. Several minutes passed. These were the most cautious assassins he had ever seen.
As if to rebut the thought, two of the guardsтАЩ hand torches lit. Their yellow beams shone down upon his
and MarthaтАЩs sleeping bags. The two other guards held their rifles trained on the bags, ready to fusillade.

Before the riflemen could utter more than gasps of astonishment, Chente shouted, тАЬOut here!тАЭ All but
One of the men turned toward his. voice. Chente raised his pistol and shot the one who still had his rifle
pointed at the sleeping bags. There was no report or flash, but his target virtually exploded.

The hand torches were doused as everyone scrambled for cover. тАЬMartha!тАЭ he shouted, тАЬGet out. Run
off to the side!тАЭ