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was breathing slowly and heavily, with a faint, whispering croak at the end of
each intake. From where he was sitting, Ryan could make out the sheen of
perspiration that dappled the old man's pallid forehead.
The main thing that had struck Ryan on his recovery was that all of their
weapons were gone all of them, including the panga.
"They get all your knives, Jak?" Ryan asked quietly.
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The white head shook slowly. "Some," was the whispered response. "Not all."
That was something.
"Doc's Le Mat's gone, as well," Krysty said. "And his trusty sword."
"Why fuck done this to us? All fucking words friendly shit! What's game?" Jak
asked.
A shadow filled the doorway, and the answering voice came from Brother Joshua
Wolfe.
"No game. Oh my, not at all a game! We are being careful, young man. I learned
from your wonderful and wise Trader that a man who takes a chance that he
doesn't have to take, doesn't often live long enough to take any further
chances.
Well, something a lot like that."
"What's the danger? If we wanted to cause you trouble, then we could have done
that from line one, page one. We had all of the firepower we needed." Ryan
closed his eye at a shaft of pain from his headache. "Like Jak says, all your
words were just a load of bullshit."
"Possible."
Ryan raised his voice, feeling the red mist of anger swooping over his mind.
"Probable!"
The leader of the community wasn't in the mood to be provoked. He shook his
head and smiled. "Patience and forgiveness are great virtues, Brother Ryan."
"You drugged us and stole our weapons."
"But of course. Did you believe that it was the fairies and elves of the great
trees that had crept in while you slumbered and took your blasters? Goblins
and
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Axler, James - Deathlands 44 - Crucible of Time gnomes of the high mountains
and the rushiest of glens? No, I rather think not, Brother."
"Cut the crap." Ryan got up off the bed, managing to conceal his dizziness.
"What about the testing you talked about? That still on?"
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Owsley was at Wolfe's elbow, and he laughed, an unpleasant, abrasive noise,
like sandpaper drawn over the edge of a piece of crystal.
"Course it's on, outlander. That's just what all of this is about."
"Drug us and take our weapons? Why not just chill us all?"
Wolfe smiled gently. "That is not the way of Our Lord, the military
fundamentalist. We have simply taken precautions. Made sure the testing will
go well. And fairly."
"Fairly?" It was Ryan's turn to smile cynically. "Not a word I'd link to you,
Brother Wolfe."
"Then you would be wrong, Brother Cawdor. Hopeville is built upon the strong
foundation of fairness."
"Hallelujah, brothers and sisters." The cry came from the large woman, who
clapped her meaty hands together with a noise like distant thunder. Krysty
looked across at her, and was surprised at the glance of bitter hatred that
she received in return. The woman spit in the dirt to show her contempt.
"We shall all eat at God's own table," Wolfe said, lifting his hand to silence
the people around him. "A time to remember things past and to look forward to
things that are soon to come. Let us go dine."
JOSIAH STEELE WAS TRYING to explain the purpose of the testing to the six
outlanders. Doc was still very unwell, with a scorchingly high temperature,
and
Mildred had insisted that the old man had to stay warm and snug in his bed,
with
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Axler, James - Deathlands 44 - Crucible of Time plenty to drink to fight off
the real dangers of dehydration.
"Everyone who comes here has to prove themselves worthy of acceptance to the
Children of the Rock. That's why we all have had to face the testing."
"What if a woman arrived with half a dozen little children?" Krysty asked.
Steele hesitated. "Guess that the rules can always be bent some."
"But not for us," Ryan stated, munching away at a crusty bread roll. "One
child doesn't count."
"Guess not. Seems there's too many aces on the line between you and Brother
Wolfe." Steele helped himself from a small iron caldron of thick
pork-and-lentil soup. "Too many rivers for you both to cross."
The food was very good, satisfying to the palate and rich, well flavored,
without the oppressive bitterness of the previous evening's meal. Also, Ryan
had watched carefully, taking the precaution of checking that he and the
others ate out of the same cooking pots that the members of the Children of
the Rock had dined from.
Mildred slipped away to go back to their cabin and check on Doc's progress,
returning with a worried look on her face. She squatted alongside Ryan,
putting her mouth close to his ear, speaking fast and low.
"I think he's about at his worst," she said. "At least that's what I hope.
Temperature's sky-high, but his heart and respiration are steady."
"Conscious?"
She pulled a doubtful face. "Sort of."
"Recognize you?"
"I think so. But he's away on the far side of knowing where he is and what's
going
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Axler, James - Deathlands 44 - Crucible of Time on."
"At least they won't be making the old buzzard take part in this stupe
testing."
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Mildred nodded. "No, I guess not."
THE MEAL WAS SOON OVER, the dishes taken away by the women, the scraps
devoured by the lean mongrels that scavenged around the ville.
"Testing time is nearly upon us, my beloved brothers and sisters." After a
significant pause, the leader of Hopeville added, "And outlanders."
There was a hum of excitement around the open area that had the central fire
at its heart. It seemed like the whole settlement was there, with the sec men
all armed with their Hawes Montana Marshal revolvers, many of them also
hefting their
Winchester rifles.
Ryan suspected that the display of arms was for their benefit, not to hold off
any potential attack by the Apaches who lived among the trees.
He stood and stretched, savoring the powerful scent of the surrounding pines.
"We're ready as we can be, Brother Wolfe," he said. "Then let's get at it."
RYAN AND THE OTHERS stood together near the smoldering fire, feeling oddly
naked without their weapons.
After the meal they'd been allowed to go back to their log cabin to clean up
and get ready for the afternoon. And while there, they'd had a short but
bitter conversation about what they should do.
J.B., allied to Mildred, had urged very strongly that they should cut their
losses and run for it.
"Leave the blasters?" Ryan had asked in disbelief.
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Axler, James - Deathlands 44 - Crucible of Time
"Why not? Dark night, Ryan! We can always replace the weapons. Much as it
hurts me. But I'm real triple unhappy about the setup here." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]