"Kate Wilhelm - Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wilhelm Kate)

gone to talk to Selnick about the equipment, Selnick had insistedтАФmadly, David had thought at the
timeтАФthat he take everything or nothing. тАЬYouтАЩll see,тАЭ he had said wildly. тАЬYouтАЩll see.тАЭ The
following week he had hanged himself, and the equipment was on its way to the Virginia valley.
They worked and slept in the lab, leaving only for meals. The winter rains gave way to
spring rains, and a new softness was in the air.
David was leaving the cafeteria, his mind on the work in the lab, when he felt a tug on his
arm. It was his mother. He hadnтАЩt seen her for weeks, and would have brushed past her with a quick
hello if she hadnтАЩt stopped him. She looked strange, childlike. He turned from her to stare out
the window, waiting for her to release his arm.
тАЬCeliaтАЩs coming home,тАЭ she said softly. тАЬSheтАЩs well, she says.тАЭ
David felt frozen; he continued to stare out the window seeing nothing. тАЬWhere is she now?тАЭ
He listened to the rustle of cheap paper and when it seemed that his mother was not going to
answer him, he wheeled about. тАЬWhere is she?тАЭ
тАЬMiami,тАЭ she said finally, after scanning the two pages. тАЬItтАЩs postmarked Miami, I think.
ItтАЩs over two weeks old. Dated May 28. She never got any of our mail.тАЭ She pressed the letter into
DavidтАЩs hand. Tears overflowed her eyes, and heedless of them she walked away.
David didnтАЩt read the letter until his mother had left the cafeteria. I was in Colombia for
a while, eight months, I think. And I got a touch of the bug that nobody wants to name. The
writing was spindly and uncertain. She was not well then. He looked for Walt.
тАЬI have to go get her. She canтАЩt walk in on that gang at the Wiston place.тАЭ
тАЬYou know you canтАЩt leave now.тАЭ
тАЬIt isnтАЩt a question of can or canтАЩt. I have to.тАЭ
Walt studied him for a moment, then shrugged. тАЬHow will you get there and back? No gas. You
know we donтАЩt dare use any for anything but the harvest.тАЭ
тАЬI know,тАЭ David said impatiently. тАЬIтАЩll take Mike and the cart. I can stay on the back roads
with Mike.тАЭ He knew that Walt was calculating, as he had done, the time involved, and he felt his
face tightening, his hands clenching. Walt simply nodded. тАЬIтАЩll leave as soon as itтАЩs light in the
morning.тАЭ Again Walt nodded. тАЬThanks,тАЭ David said suddenly. He meant for not arguing with him, for
not pointing out what both already knewтАФthat there was no way of knowing how long he would have to
wait for Celia, that she might never make it to the farm.
Three miles from the Wiston farm, David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush.
He swept over the tracks where he had left the dirt road, and then led Mike into the woods. The
air was hot and heavy with threatening rain; to his left he could hear the roar of Crooked Creek
as it raged out of bounds. The ground was spongy and he walked carefully, not wanting to sink to
his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands. The Wiston farm always had been flood-
prone; it enriched the soil, Grandfather Wiston had claimed, not willing to damn nature for its
periodic rampages. тАЬGod didnтАЩt mean for this piece of ground to have to bear year after year after
year,тАЭ he said. тАЬComes a time when the earth needs a rest, same as you and me. WeтАЩll let it be
this year, give it some clover when the ground dries out.тАЭ
David started to climb, still leading Mike, who whinnied softly at him now and again. тАЬJust
to the knob, boy,тАЭ David said quietly. тАЬThen you can rest and eat meadow grass until she gets
here.тАЭ
Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once, when David was twelve. He remembered the
day, hot and still like this day, he thought, and Grandfather Wiston had been straight and strong.


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At the knob his grandfather had paused and touched the massive bole of a white oak tree. тАЬThis