"Connie Willis - The Sidon in the Mirror" - читать интересную книгу автора (Willis Connie)

His face was as dark a red as mine. тАЬI didnтАЩt say it to be mean, Jewell,тАЭ he said. тАЬYouтАЩre doing what you
did with the sidon, taking in simmthing thitтАЩll turn on you. They wonтАЩt even lit Mirrors on Solfatara.тАЭ

тАЬI think thatтАЩs probably a good ricommendation considering what they do lit on Solfatara,тАЬ Jewell said
quietly. тАЭSot-gamblers, tap-stealers, perversтАжтАЬ

тАЬYou saw that Mirror kill the tapper. Stid there right in front iv ivverybody, and nobody kidd stop him.
Nobody. The tapper bigging for mercy, his hands tied in front of him, and thit Mirror coming at him with
a sot-razor, smiling while he did it.тАЭ

тАЬYes,тАЭ Jewell said. тАЬI saw it. I saw a lot of things on Solfatara. But this is Paylay. And this is my
pianoboard player Ruby. I dinтАЩt think a man should be outlawed till he does simmthing, di you Jick?тАЭ She
put her hand on my shoulder. тАЬDo you know тАШBack Home?тАЩтАЭ she said. Of course I knew it. I knew all
the tapper songs. Kovich had played in every happy house on Solfatara before somebody broke his
hands. He had called тАЬBack HomeтАЭ his rope cutter.

тАЬPlay it, thin,тАЭ she said. тАЬShow thim what you can do, Ruby.тАЭ
I played it with lots of trills and octave stretches, all the fancy things Kovich could do with five fingers
instead of eight. Then I stopped and waited. The nitrogen blowers kicked off, and even the fans made no
noise. During the song, Jewell had gone and stood next to Jack, putting her hand on his shoulder, trying
to tame him. I wondered if she had succeeded. Jack looked at me, and then at Jewell and back at me
again. His hand went into his formals shirt, and my heart almost stopped before he brought it out again.

тАЬJewellтАЩs right,тАЭ he said. тАЬYou shiddnтАЩt judge a man till you see what he does. That was gid playing,тАЭ he
said, handing me a plastic-wrapped cigar. тАЬWilcome to Paylay.тАЭ

Jewell nodded at me, and I extended my hand and took the cigar. I fumbled to get the slippery plastic off
and then had to look at the cigar a minute to make sure I was getting the right end in my mouth. I stuck it
in my mouth and reached inside my shirt for my sparker. I didnтАЩt know what would happen when I lit the
cigar. For all I understood what was going on, the cigar might be full of gunpowder. Jewell did not look
worried, but then she had misjudged the sidon, too.

My hand closed on the sparker inside my shirt, the nitrogen blowers suddenly kicked on, and Jack said
lazily, тАЬNow whit you ginna light that with, Ruby? There inтАЩt a match on Paylay!тАЭ

Jewell laughed, and the men guffawed. I pulled my empty hand sheepishly out of my jacket and took the
cigar out of my mouth to look at it. тАЬI forgot you canтАЩt smoke on Paylay,тАЭ I said.

тАЬYou and ivvery tapper that kimms in on the down,тАЭ , Jewell said. тАЬIтАЩve seen Jick play that joke on how
many newcomers?тАЭ

тАЬIvvery one,тАЭ Jack said, looking pleased with himself. тАЬIt even worked on you, Jewell, and you werenтАЩt a
newcomer.тАЭ

тАЬIt did not, you tripletapping liar,тАЭ she said. тАЬLitтАЩs hear simmthing else, Ruby,тАЭ she said. тАЬWhit do you
want Ruby to play, boys?тАЭ

Scorch shouted out a song, and I played it, and then another, but I do not know what they were. It had
been a joke, offer the newcomer a cigar and then watch him try to light it on a star where no open flames