hh.thessrat.sings.the.blues-第16章

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　〃Thanks　a　lot…but　no　thanks。〃
　He　stood　up　and　stabbed　an　accusatory　finger　in　my　direction。　〃Unclean！　Profane！　Leave…for　you　soil　me　with　your　presence。〃
　〃Well　each　to　their　own　opinion。　Good…by　and　good　luck　with　your　sheot　shearing。　May　all　your　fleeces　be　giant　ones。　But　an　indulgence　please…before　you　go　would　you　take　a　look　at　this。〃　I　pulled　the　photograph　of　the　alien　artifact　from　my　pocket　and　held　it　out。
　〃Unclean；〃　he　muttered　and　put　his　hand　behind　his　back　so　he　wouldn't　touch　it。
　〃I'm　sure　it　is。　I　just　want　to　know　if　you　have　seen　this　thing　in　the　picture　before。〃
　〃No；　never。〃
　〃Been　nice　talking　to　you。〃
　He　did　not　return　my　friendly　wave　as　he　walked　over　to　his　mount；　kicked　it　in　the　leg　until　it　sat　down；　climbed　aboard　and　galloped　off。　I　pulled　my　sword　out　of　the　ground　and　went　to　join　the　others。　Madonette　was　still　simmering。
　〃Hypocritical　narrow…minded　bigoted　moron。〃
　〃That　and　a　lot　more。　At　least　I　got　one　bit　of　negative　information　from　him。　He　never　saw　the　artifact。　It　must　have　been　taken　by　another　one　of　the　tribes。〃
　〃Are　we　going　to　have　to　talk　to　all　of　them？〃
　〃Unless　you　have　any　better　ideas。　And　nineteen　days　to　go。〃
　〃I　don't　trust　him；〃　Madonette　said。　〃And　don't　sneer　and　say　female　intuition。　Aren't　these　the　same　kind　as　the　bunch　that　attacked　the　archeologists'　ship？〃
　〃You're　right…and　isn't　that　the　clatter　of　hundreds　of　hooves　ing　this　way？〃
　〃It　is！〃　Floyd　shouted；　pointing。　〃What　do　we　do…run？〃
　〃No！　Out　of　the　trees　and　onto　the　plain。　Instruments　at　the　ready。　We　are　going　to　give　these　guys　a　concert　that　they　will　never　forget！〃
　Arroz　had　gone　back　to　rally　the　troops　and　at　least　thirty　of　them；　with　plenty　of　sword　waving　and　maniac　baaing；　came　charging　down。　I　turned　the　amplification　on　the　sound　up　until　it　would　not　go　any　higher。
　〃Earplugs　in；　get　ready；　on　the　count　of　three　we　give　them　old　number　thirteen；　‘The　Rockets　Go　Rumbling　On。'　One；　two　。　。　。　On　the　count　of　three　the　explosion　of　unbearable　sound　blasted　out。　The　lead　riders　were　tossed　to　the　ground　as　the　sheots　recoiled　in　fear。　I　flipped　some　smoke　bombs　among　them；　just　to　keep　the　action　going；　and　hit　them　with　holographed　lightning　bolts。
　It　was　pretty　good。　Before　we　got　to　the　second　chorus　the　stampede　was　over；　the　last　terrorized　sheots　galloped　away　out　of　sight。　The　last　black…robed　Fundamentaloid　crawled　over　the　horizon；　the　trampled　grass　dotted　with　discarded　swords；　gobbets　of　fleece　and　myriad　eightballs　of　dung。
　〃Victory　is　ours！〃　I　whooped　happily。
　And　only　nineteen　days　to　go　I　thought　depressedly。　This　just　would　not　do。　I　had　the　awful　feeling　that　we　could　spend　nineteen　days　or　nineteen　weeks　stumbling　about　this　planet　and　be　no　wiser　about　the　alien　artifact　we　were　seeking。
　There　had　to　be　a　change　of　plan…and　now？　I　walked　away　from　the　others；　then　bit　down　three　times；　so　hard　that　I　almost　cracked　a　tooth。
　〃Captain　Tremearne　here。〃
　〃And　dismal　Jim　diGriz　on　this　end。　Have　you　been　following　all　this？〃
　〃Yes；　and　watching。　I　heard　you　ask　him　to　identify　the　photograph。　I　assume　that　he　did　not。〃
　〃You　assume　right；　distant　and　disembodied　voice。　Now　listen；　there　has　got　to　be　a　change　of　plan。　When　I　came　up　with　the　idea　for　this　present　operation　I　assumed　that　there　was　some　kind　of　imitation　of　civilization　on　this　dismal　world。　Where　we　could　stroll　from　gig　to　gig　and　do　our　snooping　at　the　same　time。　I　was　wrong。〃
　〃I　regret　that　all　the　facts　were　not　supplied　to　you　at　the　time。　But　as　you　are　now　aware　there　is　a　plete　ban　on　information　being　circulated　about　this　particular　planet。〃
　〃I　know　that　now…and　it　won't　wash。　We　would　have　been　a　lot　better　if　we　came　here　disguised　as　a　squad　of　bat　marines。　So　far　every　bunch　we　have　met　has　tried　to　kill　us。　The　whole　thing　is　that　hard…nosed　Admiral　Benbow's　fault。　He　lied　to　me　about　what　we　would　find　here。　Right？〃
　〃As　a　serving　military　officer　I　cannot　discuss　the　conduct　of　my　superiors。　But　I　can　agree　that　whoever　briefed　you　was；　I　must　say；　economical　with　the　truth。〃
　〃Do　you　also　know　that　he　was　economical　with　my　health？　And　that　in　nineteen　days　I　am　going　to　keel　over　from　time　released　poison。〃
　〃Regrettably；　I　have　been　informed　that　that　is　the　case。　And　you　have　eighteen　days　left　now；　You　appear　to　have　lost　track　of　one　day　during　the　past　period。〃
　〃Eighteen？　Thanks　much。　That　only　makes　what　I　have　to　say　even　more　imperative。　I　need　some　help；　some　transportation。〃
　〃All　contact　with　the　planet　is　forbidden。〃
　〃I　just　changed　the　rules。　You　yourself　told　me　that　you　are　heading　a　mittee　to　bring　about　major　improvements　here。　The　first　change　will　be　to　get　one　of　the　ship's　launches　down　here。　With　that　I　can　get　around　to　the　various　bands　of　sheot　shaggers　before　my　personal　deadline　runs　out。〃
　〃If　1　do　that　I　will　be　disobeying　orders　and　it　could　end　my　career。
　〃Well？〃
　The　silence　inside　my　head　went　on　and　on。　I　waited。　Until　I　heard　what　could　only　have　been　a　sigh。
　〃I　suppose　there　are　plenty　of　job　opportunities　for　skilled　civilians　these　days。　The　launch　will　land　after　dark。　If　it　is　not　seen　by　anyone　on　the　ground　there　is　just　a　chance　that　my　career　change　can　be　postponed。〃
　〃You're　a　good　guy；　Tremearne。　My　heartiest　thanks。〃
　I　hummed　a　bar　or　two　from　〃The　Swedish　Monster〃　as　I　walked　back　to　inform　my　panions。
　〃Jim；　you're　wonderful！〃　Madonette　said；　grabbed　and　kissed　me。　〃I　much　prefer　flying　to　walking。〃
　Floyd　nodded　happy　agreement　and　reached　for　me。
　〃Away！〃　I　shouted。　〃Girls；　okay；　but　I　don't　kiss　guys　with　beards。　What　we　do　now　is　put　a　little　distance　between　us　and　those　religious　nuts　in　case　they　want　to　e　back　for　seconds。　Then　rest　up　until　dark。　I　have　a　feeling　that　it　is　going　to　be　a　very　busy　night。〃
　
　CHAPTER　11
　〃Wake　up；　Jim…it's　almost　dark。〃
　Madonette's　gentle　hand　was　most　wele；　since　it　drew　me　up　out　of　a　really　repulsive　nightmare。　Tentacles；　bulging　eyeballs；　yukk。　The　eighteen…day　dead　deadline　must　be　getting　to　my　subconscious。　I　sat　up；　yawned　and　stretched。　With　great　reluctance　the　sun　had　finally　dropped　behind　the　horizon　leaving　behind　a　slowly　fading　band　of　light。　The　stars　were　ing　out　revealing　some　pretty　boring　constellations　and　very　few　of　them　at　that。　This　prison　planet　must　be　far　out　on　the　galactic　rim。
　Then　something　blotted　out　the　stars　in　the　zenith　as　a　dark　form　drifted　down　to　the　ground；　silently　on　null…gray　drive。　The　door　opened　as　we　approached…and　the　cabin　lights　came　on。
　〃Turn　them　off；　lunkhead　！　〃　I　shouted。　〃You　want　to　ruin　my　night　vision。〃　The　pilot　turned　about　in　his　seat　and　I　grinned　insincerely。　〃Sorry　Captain；　sir…that　lunkhead；　just　a　figure　of　speech。〃
　〃My　fault　pletely；〃　he　said；　and　tapped　one　of　his　electronic　eyeballs。　〃With　these　I　forget。　I'm　piloting　this　thing　because　I　have　the　best　night　vision　in　the　fleet。〃
　He　flipped　the　lights　off　and　we　groped　our　way　aboard　with　just　the　dim　red　emergency　lights　to　show　us　the　way。　I　sat　in　the　copilot's　seat　and　strapped　in。
　〃What　is　your　plan？〃　he　asked。
　〃A　simple　one。　You　know　the　position　of　all　the　sheot　hocks　don't　you？〃
　〃Observed　and　logged　into　the　launch's　memory。〃
　〃Great。　Have　the　puter　do　a　topological　survey　to　plot　a　course　that　will　let　us　visit　them　all　in　the　shortest　amount　of　time。　We　drift　over　to　the　first　flock；　find　one　of　the　shepherds　who　is　maybe　out　of　sight　of　the　others…and　talk　to　him。　Show　him　the　photograph　and　find　out　if　he　has　seen　the　thing。　If　he　hasn't…on　to　the　next　bunch。〃
　〃Seems　a　simple　and　practical　plan。　Belts　fastened？　Right；　first　flock　ing　up。〃
　We　were　slammed　back　into　our　seats　and　were　on　our　way。　High　and　fast　on　the　plotted　track。　Then　slow　and　drifting　in　low　while　Tremearne　peered　out　into　the　darkness。
　〃There's　one；〃　he　said。　〃On　the　far　side　of　the　flock…all　by　himself。　Either　to　guard　the　beasts　or　keep　them　from　wandering。　I　have　a　suggestion。　I　approach　him　from　behind　and　immobilize　him。　Then　you　question　him。〃
　〃Creep　up　in　the　dark？　Immobilize　an　armed　and　watchful　guard？　That's　a　job　for　a　bat　trooper。〃
　〃Well　how　do　yo