[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
"Let that settle the matter, then!" snapped Lugh. Lugh stalked off. Rolf, Rita, and Mr. Sheperton were
left facing a crestfallen Baneen.
"Well, well," grumped the dog in a curiously apologetic tone of voice. "Didn't mean to put you on the
spot, Baneen, old man. Didn't really believe you had a dragon. Apologies, I'm sure."
"Ah, now, and that's kind of you, Mr. Sheperton," said Baneen, sadly. "But that great monster Lugh had
the right of it. It was me own fault for threatening you with the poor creature. Sure, and my tongue clean
ran away with me."
"Say no more," gruffed Mr. Sheperton.
"But it was a full-sized dragon, once, indeed it was," said Baneen, looking appealingly at the dog and the
two humans alike. "Back on bright and dusty Gremla. The personal dragon of the House of Lugh, full
twenty cubits in height and forty-six cubits long. However, it was necessary to shrink it down a bit in
order to bring it to this Earth of yours; and as I've mentioned before the watery place that it is here, not
even Lugh could grow the creature back to its proper size again not that we'd have wanted to risk
letting it run around loose and maybe get killed off, like all your native dragons were, back in the days of
the knights. Ah, it's cruel they were to the native dragons, your iron ancestors, murdering them on sight;
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and all in the name of honor and glory."
Baneen sighed heavily. Rolf found himself sighing right along with the small gremlin. A few dragons, still
alive, could have made modern life much more interesting.
9
"What was it Baneen and the other gremlin " began Rita as they were cycling home.
"O'Rigami," said Rolf. "He's the Grand Engineer."
"Oh?" Rita said. "What were he and Baneen talking to you about just before we left?"
"The blueprints," said Rolf, still deep in his own thoughts. "I don't know why they can't steal their own
blueprints instead of leaving it up to me for everything."
"They want you to steal a blueprint?" cried Rita. "A blueprint of what?"
"Of the spacecraft's life-support system," Rolf answered. "I told them I couldn't. Even if I could get into
Dad's office and even if the blueprints were there for me to find, I wouldn't recognize which one was the
right one even if I saw it. I'm going to get them a poster, instead."
"A poster?"
"Sure," Rolf glanced at her as he pedaled. "You remember that wall-poster I got out at the Cape
Kennedy Visitor's Center last May? The one with the chart on the back of what the spacecraft controls
look like."
"But that's not the same thing as a blueprint," Rita said.
"I know, but for gremlins it doesn't make much difference, I guess." Rolf thought back to the way
O'Rigami had explained it all to him. "It's only necessary for O'Rigami to touch the Speciar Virtue "
"The what?" asked Rita.
"The Speciar Virtue . . ."
"You sound like you've got a Japanese accent."
"It's a gremlin accent," said Rolf, gloomily. "One of them, anyway. I meant the SpecialVirtue of an
object. O'Rigami says that all he needs to do is touch the Special Virtue of the spacecraft to the Magical
Device the space kite, that is. I'm just hoping that there's the right Special Virtue in my poster." He
shook his head. "Gremlin magic doesn't work the way our science does."
Rita said, "I don't understand it."
"Neither do I," admitted Rolf. "Anyway, I hope the poster works as well as the blueprints for O'Rigami.
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But that's the easy part. It's getting up on the launch tower that worries me. I've got to do that tonight."
Mr. Sheperton, who had been trotting along between the two bikes, muttered, "Tomfoolery, all this
gremlin nonsense."
Rolf frowned at the dog, then looked back at Rita. "That's why you've got to help me."
"Me?"
"Well," said Rolf. "I can't get into the Space Center and up to the launch tower all by myself. Your dad
checks the men on the gates every night. If you went there because you wanted to talk to him, I was
thinking maybe you could keep his attention while I sneaked in "
"Rolf!" Rita was clearly upset. "I couldn't do that."
"Then we're done for."
"Not we.You," said Rita, a little coldly.
"I mean all of us, the gremlins, the space program, everything."
Rita stared at him again. He could feel her eyes searching through him as he pedaled straight down the
road, toward the setting sun.
"Why do you say the space program and . . . everything?" she asked at last.
"Because," he said, looking at her again, "I think Lugh can really keep the rocket from going up, if he
wants to. Dad's always talking about the millions of parts in every rocket and how each one has to work [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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"Let that settle the matter, then!" snapped Lugh. Lugh stalked off. Rolf, Rita, and Mr. Sheperton were
left facing a crestfallen Baneen.
"Well, well," grumped the dog in a curiously apologetic tone of voice. "Didn't mean to put you on the
spot, Baneen, old man. Didn't really believe you had a dragon. Apologies, I'm sure."
"Ah, now, and that's kind of you, Mr. Sheperton," said Baneen, sadly. "But that great monster Lugh had
the right of it. It was me own fault for threatening you with the poor creature. Sure, and my tongue clean
ran away with me."
"Say no more," gruffed Mr. Sheperton.
"But it was a full-sized dragon, once, indeed it was," said Baneen, looking appealingly at the dog and the
two humans alike. "Back on bright and dusty Gremla. The personal dragon of the House of Lugh, full
twenty cubits in height and forty-six cubits long. However, it was necessary to shrink it down a bit in
order to bring it to this Earth of yours; and as I've mentioned before the watery place that it is here, not
even Lugh could grow the creature back to its proper size again not that we'd have wanted to risk
letting it run around loose and maybe get killed off, like all your native dragons were, back in the days of
the knights. Ah, it's cruel they were to the native dragons, your iron ancestors, murdering them on sight;
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
and all in the name of honor and glory."
Baneen sighed heavily. Rolf found himself sighing right along with the small gremlin. A few dragons, still
alive, could have made modern life much more interesting.
9
"What was it Baneen and the other gremlin " began Rita as they were cycling home.
"O'Rigami," said Rolf. "He's the Grand Engineer."
"Oh?" Rita said. "What were he and Baneen talking to you about just before we left?"
"The blueprints," said Rolf, still deep in his own thoughts. "I don't know why they can't steal their own
blueprints instead of leaving it up to me for everything."
"They want you to steal a blueprint?" cried Rita. "A blueprint of what?"
"Of the spacecraft's life-support system," Rolf answered. "I told them I couldn't. Even if I could get into
Dad's office and even if the blueprints were there for me to find, I wouldn't recognize which one was the
right one even if I saw it. I'm going to get them a poster, instead."
"A poster?"
"Sure," Rolf glanced at her as he pedaled. "You remember that wall-poster I got out at the Cape
Kennedy Visitor's Center last May? The one with the chart on the back of what the spacecraft controls
look like."
"But that's not the same thing as a blueprint," Rita said.
"I know, but for gremlins it doesn't make much difference, I guess." Rolf thought back to the way
O'Rigami had explained it all to him. "It's only necessary for O'Rigami to touch the Speciar Virtue "
"The what?" asked Rita.
"The Speciar Virtue . . ."
"You sound like you've got a Japanese accent."
"It's a gremlin accent," said Rolf, gloomily. "One of them, anyway. I meant the SpecialVirtue of an
object. O'Rigami says that all he needs to do is touch the Special Virtue of the spacecraft to the Magical
Device the space kite, that is. I'm just hoping that there's the right Special Virtue in my poster." He
shook his head. "Gremlin magic doesn't work the way our science does."
Rita said, "I don't understand it."
"Neither do I," admitted Rolf. "Anyway, I hope the poster works as well as the blueprints for O'Rigami.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
But that's the easy part. It's getting up on the launch tower that worries me. I've got to do that tonight."
Mr. Sheperton, who had been trotting along between the two bikes, muttered, "Tomfoolery, all this
gremlin nonsense."
Rolf frowned at the dog, then looked back at Rita. "That's why you've got to help me."
"Me?"
"Well," said Rolf. "I can't get into the Space Center and up to the launch tower all by myself. Your dad
checks the men on the gates every night. If you went there because you wanted to talk to him, I was
thinking maybe you could keep his attention while I sneaked in "
"Rolf!" Rita was clearly upset. "I couldn't do that."
"Then we're done for."
"Not we.You," said Rita, a little coldly.
"I mean all of us, the gremlins, the space program, everything."
Rita stared at him again. He could feel her eyes searching through him as he pedaled straight down the
road, toward the setting sun.
"Why do you say the space program and . . . everything?" she asked at last.
"Because," he said, looking at her again, "I think Lugh can really keep the rocket from going up, if he
wants to. Dad's always talking about the millions of parts in every rocket and how each one has to work [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]