Читать книгу Classics of a fantasy - A. Belyaev - Страница 10

ON THE EARTH THERE IS NO RESCUE!

– All this is awful! – lady Hinton told. Put finger-tips to

to temples:

– Give me cologne, Ellen!

– Would you like to rub whisky a menthol pencil, lady Hinton? —

doctor Teker asked.

– Does not help! – with irritation lady Hinton answered. – This rolling

will kill me. Why the steamship stands still? When it moves, swings

it is less.

– We have to protect fuel, lady Hinton! – drowsily responded from the

chairs Stormer. – Dead ripple. For hundred miles from us there passed the cyclone…

The baron – that absolutely got sick. Expresses with one interjections.

– I cannot… To me it is bad!. – Ellen squeezed spoke

by voice. Her face became green. It pressed a scarf to a mouth and, convulsively

pulling shoulders, hasty was removed.

– Ah! – it is noisy lady Hinton sighed. – It is heavy to be the exile in ours

years! Without house, a shelter and hopes…

– And I prefer to be an exile, than the decaying corpse. Yes! —

Stormer objected, sucking round pomegranate. – If not mine

foresight, we, likely, would already be production of sepulchral worms.

– Any hair will not fall from the head without God’s will! – instructively

the bishop Iov Weller noticed.

– Why you, the my Lord, did not remain in London, having entrusted

to God’s will your head of hear?

Distorted lady Hinton from such “blasphemous” words. “Demons of war

and revolutions broke from chains” as Shnirer before was was expressed

the rocket is ended and the huge motor ship is constructed. Stormer managed

to charter the ocean steamship standing in port, to put on it

shareholders – participants of future interplanetary flight and to sail in Silent

ocean.

– Around water. Defenseless, unarmed, we stand in full view of all… —

lady Hinton continued the complaints. Stormer was bothered, probably, by it

grumbling.

– You begin to hallucinate? – almost he shouted at the old woman. —

Whom do you see? Who has us on a look? Who looks at us? The ocean is desert,

as in the first days of creation. And who will look for us now? Believe,

nobody does not care about us. Ocean not of Oxford Street, not Piccadilly. In the ocean

there are roads and the solitudes. We are in the center

the triangle which is formed crossing of big ocean ways: from

Yokohama and Valparaiso – Japan, South America; from Wellington – New

Zealand to Panama and from Panama along coast of South America to Magellanic

to the passage. More than one thousand kilometers separate us from west banks Southern

America. Here any ship does not come, unless a cyclone a sailing vessel

will bring. But sailing vessels to us are not terrible. Ocean steamships all are equipped

radio stations. They notify on themselves, we have a radio direction finder.

From a special mast tower watchmen sharp-sightedly watch the horizon. Ours

vessel one of the most high-speed. And we could not get away unless only

from warships. And, at last, we have hydroplanes. All valuable freight

long ago it is stored in the Andes.

Lady Hinton became angry about the fact that Stormer-city was called not her

name. Not to irritate the old lady, Stormer at her presence

called Stormer-city descriptively: “the city in mountains”, “the city where is under construction

rocket”.

– In case of extreme danger we can always depart there.

– But why don’t we make it now – not to depart to this yours

Stormer-city? – lady Hinton asked.

– Because there yet the hotel is not built. You to live in a working barrack

you will not be. Yes here, believe, and more safely. Here we can

to maneuver. If not yours, – Stormer wanted to tell “whims”, but

restrained, – not your indispositions, we would go down in more southern latitudes,

there we would be already in the absolute safety. There we would be “on

to look” at one penguins. And if to cover us in Stormer-city before

the rocket will be ready, we died. It is possible to run only by air from there.

But also there will be no place to run.

– My God! My God, my God! – tragicly lady Hinton exclaimed.

– Why you so nakazut us?

– Smoke on the horizon! – lingeringly the watchman from a tower shouted.

– Where? Where? – the turned pale bishop and too hasty shouted for

the dignity walked to a board, taking out on the run from a case prismatic

field-glass.

– Second smoke., the third., whole squadron!. – the watchman proclaimed.

By the ship vanity rose. Sharply the team was distributed. Powerful recovered

cars, the vessel case began to tremble. It began to be developed on the left board,

accelerating the course.

On the deck Shnirer ran, swinging Kant’s volume.

– Amelie! What? And? Already?

Being unsteady, there was Ellen. From where the baron crept out. His jaw shivered.

He tried to tell something to Stormer:

– E-e-e…

That waved away from it, as from a fly. Stormer was also excited, but

kept better than others.

The ship turned on the South and went with speed limit.

– Well, solve horsepowers now, – Stormer murmured.

– Perhaps, we absolutely are also not pursued, – suggested

Ticker. – The whole world is at war. The Japanese and American fleet chases in the ocean

one after another.

Lady Hinton for the first time with gratitude looked at the doctor.

These words of calm worked on it better than drugs. Teker caught

the mercy look of lady Hinton also used it.

– I will go to visit the wife and the child. I will return soon, lady Hinton, —

he told.

– For us or not for us a pursuit, but we were found, and this harm, – not

Stormer was appeased. – The unknown squadron follows us close. If

it will not be possible to disappear before nightfall, put rubbish.

There came burdensome silence. It was heard only as cuts

stem an ocean smooth surface yes diesels gradually knock.

Hour passed after an hour. The sun was inclined to the horizon, distance

between motor ship and the pursuing squadron everything decreased.

– It is good still that they do not shoot! – Stormer told. All were too

are suppressed to keep up the conversation. The captain phoned,

that, by its calculations, before twilight the squadron will not manage to overtake

them. And, perhaps, for the first time for many years of lady Hinton it is passionate

wanted that time went rather.

Before sunset already with the naked eye it was possible to distinguish

head vessel. According to the captain, it was the military cruiser. But Japanese

or American – it is hard to say.

– And it is even more difficult to guess who conducts these cruisers, – noticed Stormer. —

Everything in the world changes. Yesterday the country was capitalist, it today

already republic of proletarians.

At last beneficial night lowered the black curtain. If on

it the drama play also ended, it would be possible to disperse peacefully on

to the houses. An interval, alas, only an interval which should use.

To disappear under the screen of night, having sharply changed a course, – here in what now

there was a task. The captain thought and turned on the East.

– Hgu., хглупо, – Marshal to whom together with night told

cool the speech power returned. – In the east we will get on the sea way,

which goes along the southern coast of America.

– And I believe, – Stormer objected, – that our captain very cleverly

arrived. It is necessary to present itself on the place of persecutors and to think about

in their opinion, we will choose volume, what way. That, which

you specify. And for the same reason. And the squadron will probably turn

on the West. A sea way on which there are commercial ships, to us not

it is terrible. Even it is better if we meet these trade ships. They will distract

attention of persecutors if the squadron nevertheless turns, as well as we, on

East.

The baron and Stormer continued to argue.

The squadron went probably with the extinguished fires. It was impossible to define,

far it or it is close.

The captain, having given the instruction and having charged management to the assistant, collected

also declared all passengers it:

– Our situation remains extremely serious: the squadron can

to be divided, having directed the ships in three directions – east,

western and southern. And next morning you can be overtaken. Could save you unless