[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
mounts.
After what seemed a daytenth but had to be an interval measured in heartbeats, the shaking ceased. Just
in time, too; Peggol vez Menk's donkey, panicked by the tremor, was about to buck the Eye and Ear
into a thornbush. Radnal caught the beast's reins, calmed it.
"Thank you, freeman vez Krobir," Peggol said. "That was bad."
"You didn't make it any better by letting go of the reins," Radnal told him. "If you were in a motor,
wouldn't you hang on to the tiller?"
"I hope so," Peggol said. "But if I were in a motor, it wouldn't try to run away by itself."
Moblay Sopsirk's son looked west, toward the Barrier Mountains. "That was worse than the one
yesterday. I feared I'd see the Western Ocean pouring in with a wave as high as the Lion God's mane."
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"As I've said before, that's not something you're likely to have to worry about," Radnal said. "A quake
would have to bevery strong and at exactly the wrong place to disturb the mountains."
"So it would." Moblay did not sound comforted.
Radnal dismissed his concern with the mild scorn you feel for someone who overreacts to a danger
you're used to. Over in the Double Continent, they had vast and deadly windstorms. Radnal was sure
one of those would frighten him out of his wits. But the Stekians probably took them in stride, as he lost
no sleep over earthquakes.
The sun sank toward the spikes of the Barrier Mountains. As if bloodied by their pricking, its rays grew
redder as Bottomlands shadows lengthened. More red sparkled from the glass and metal and plastic of
the helos between the lodge and the stables. Noticing them made Radnal return to the here-and-now. He
wondered how the militiamen and Eyes and Ears had done in their search for clues.
They came out as the tour group approached. In their tan, speckled robes, the militiamen were almost
invisible against the desert. The Eyes and Ears, with their white and gold and patent leather, might have
been spotted from ten thousand cubits away, or from the mountains of the moon.
Liem vez Steries waved to Radnal. "Any luck? Do you have the killer tied up in pink string?"
"Do you see any pink string?" Radnal turned back to face the group, raised his voice: "Let's get the
donkeys settled. They can't do it for themselves. When they're fed and watered, we can worry about
ourselves."And about everything that's been going on , he added to himself.
The tourists' dismounting groans were quieter than they'd been the day before; they were growing
hardened to riding. Poor Peggol vez Menk assumed a bowlegged gait most often seen in rickets victims.
"I was thinking of taking yesterday off," he said lugubriously. "I wish I had someone else would have
taken your call."
"You might have drawn a worse assignment," Radnal said, helping him unsaddle the donkey. The way
Peggol rolled his eyes denied that was possible.
Fer vez Canthal and Zosel vez Glesir came over to help see to the tour group's donkeys. Under the
brims of their caps, their eyes sparked with excitement. "Well, Radnal vez, we have a good deal to tell
you ," Fer began.
Peggol had a sore fundament, but his wits still worked. He made a sharp chopping gesture. "Freeman,
save your news for a more private time." A smoother motion, this time with upturned palm, pointed out
the chattering crowd still inside the stables. "Someone may hear something he should not."
Fer looked abashed. "Your pardon, freeman; no doubt you are right."
"No doubt." Peggol's tone argued that he couldn't be anything but. From under the shiny brim of his cap,
his gaze flicked here and there, measuring everyone in turn with the calipers of his suspicion. It came to
Radnal, and showed no softening. Resentment flared in the tour guide, then dimmed. He knew he hadn't
killed anyone, but the Eye and Ear didn't.
"I'll get the firepit started," Fer said.
"Good idea," Eltsac vez Martois said as he walked by. "I'm hungry enough to eat one of those humpless
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
camels, raw and without salt." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl aikidobyd.xlx.pl
mounts.
After what seemed a daytenth but had to be an interval measured in heartbeats, the shaking ceased. Just
in time, too; Peggol vez Menk's donkey, panicked by the tremor, was about to buck the Eye and Ear
into a thornbush. Radnal caught the beast's reins, calmed it.
"Thank you, freeman vez Krobir," Peggol said. "That was bad."
"You didn't make it any better by letting go of the reins," Radnal told him. "If you were in a motor,
wouldn't you hang on to the tiller?"
"I hope so," Peggol said. "But if I were in a motor, it wouldn't try to run away by itself."
Moblay Sopsirk's son looked west, toward the Barrier Mountains. "That was worse than the one
yesterday. I feared I'd see the Western Ocean pouring in with a wave as high as the Lion God's mane."
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"As I've said before, that's not something you're likely to have to worry about," Radnal said. "A quake
would have to bevery strong and at exactly the wrong place to disturb the mountains."
"So it would." Moblay did not sound comforted.
Radnal dismissed his concern with the mild scorn you feel for someone who overreacts to a danger
you're used to. Over in the Double Continent, they had vast and deadly windstorms. Radnal was sure
one of those would frighten him out of his wits. But the Stekians probably took them in stride, as he lost
no sleep over earthquakes.
The sun sank toward the spikes of the Barrier Mountains. As if bloodied by their pricking, its rays grew
redder as Bottomlands shadows lengthened. More red sparkled from the glass and metal and plastic of
the helos between the lodge and the stables. Noticing them made Radnal return to the here-and-now. He
wondered how the militiamen and Eyes and Ears had done in their search for clues.
They came out as the tour group approached. In their tan, speckled robes, the militiamen were almost
invisible against the desert. The Eyes and Ears, with their white and gold and patent leather, might have
been spotted from ten thousand cubits away, or from the mountains of the moon.
Liem vez Steries waved to Radnal. "Any luck? Do you have the killer tied up in pink string?"
"Do you see any pink string?" Radnal turned back to face the group, raised his voice: "Let's get the
donkeys settled. They can't do it for themselves. When they're fed and watered, we can worry about
ourselves."And about everything that's been going on , he added to himself.
The tourists' dismounting groans were quieter than they'd been the day before; they were growing
hardened to riding. Poor Peggol vez Menk assumed a bowlegged gait most often seen in rickets victims.
"I was thinking of taking yesterday off," he said lugubriously. "I wish I had someone else would have
taken your call."
"You might have drawn a worse assignment," Radnal said, helping him unsaddle the donkey. The way
Peggol rolled his eyes denied that was possible.
Fer vez Canthal and Zosel vez Glesir came over to help see to the tour group's donkeys. Under the
brims of their caps, their eyes sparked with excitement. "Well, Radnal vez, we have a good deal to tell
you ," Fer began.
Peggol had a sore fundament, but his wits still worked. He made a sharp chopping gesture. "Freeman,
save your news for a more private time." A smoother motion, this time with upturned palm, pointed out
the chattering crowd still inside the stables. "Someone may hear something he should not."
Fer looked abashed. "Your pardon, freeman; no doubt you are right."
"No doubt." Peggol's tone argued that he couldn't be anything but. From under the shiny brim of his cap,
his gaze flicked here and there, measuring everyone in turn with the calipers of his suspicion. It came to
Radnal, and showed no softening. Resentment flared in the tour guide, then dimmed. He knew he hadn't
killed anyone, but the Eye and Ear didn't.
"I'll get the firepit started," Fer said.
"Good idea," Eltsac vez Martois said as he walked by. "I'm hungry enough to eat one of those humpless
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
camels, raw and without salt." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]