[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Torm shook his head, walked over and caught up with the plant, and picked it
up from behind. The monster's hooting abruptly ceased. The plant craned itself
around in his hands, quivered energetically, and tried to climb his arm. It
was unsuccessful.
Torm looked from it to the monster. "What's wrong between you two?"
Neither answered. Torm Lindsay shook his head and put the plant down- It
immediately lit out once more in the direction of the monster.
"No," said Torm, going around and getting in its way. "Whatever there is
between you two, we're all in this thing together and we can't afford to take
picks at each other."
The plant was not convinced; it tried to go around
Lindsay. Remembering a technique that had worked before, he slapped at it a
couple of times, lightly. It retreated half a meter, dug itself perhaps twenty
centimeters into the sand, and quivered violently for a good minute.
"Consider me told off again," said Torm. The plant drooped rather limply. "You
shouldn't excite your-
CLOAK AND STAGGER 219
self that way. He" Lindsay glanced over at the monster "isn't doing any harm,
just lying there that way."
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Gordon%20%20Dickson%20-%20The%20Stra
nger.txt (163 of 190) [10/16/2004 4:39:07 PM]
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Gordon%20%20Dickson%20-%20The%20Stra
nger.txt
"Hoot," said the monster.
"Of course, he isn't doing us any good either."
The monster closed his eyes and relaxed. The plant continued to droop.
"Perk up, son," Lindsay said to the plant, "and let's get back to business.
You, at least, were making yourself useful on this gimmick business. Let's go
back and see what can be done about getting it work-
ing again, eh?"
The plant made no response. After a minute, Torm dug the sand away from its
roots, picked it up, and carried it back to the gimmick. It gave a couple of
half-hearted quivers on the way over.
"Cheer up," said Torm. "Nothing is impossible-
Now . . ." He sat down and placed the plant in front of him, between himself
and the apparatus. "Let's see what we have here."
The plant walked off a meter's length or so and stood still. Lindsay poked
interestedly at the gimmick.
In appearance, it was so simple as to appear easily understandable. There were
Page 122
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
several plates spaced along a narrow rod, which seemed to have been twisted
somewhat out of plumb. There was a long coil of fine wire, attached to the
bottom plate and trailing loosely off to one side. And there was a fine,
colorful little object that would have made an excel-
lent child's marble back on Earth if it had not been for the fact that it was
ellipsoidal in shape, rather than spherical.
"Hmmmm." Torm lifted the long coil of wire. It draped nicely in length. "Where
do you suppose this goes?"
It was a good question. The coil was too long to fit between the plates unless
Torm didn't mind having
Gordon R. Dickson
220
a lot left over. But the loose end had an uncompleted look about it, as if it
were supposed to fit somewhere.
"Hey!" Torm called, looking over at the plant. "Give me a hand, here."
The plant ignored him.
"Fine thing! I draw one alien who spends all his time snoozing when he isn't
hooting his head off; and another who's a little bundle of temperament." He
reached over and poked the stem of the plant, gently.
"Hey "
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Gordon%20%20Dickson%20-%20The%20Stra
nger.txt (164 of 190) [10/16/2004 4:39:07 PM]
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Gordon%20%20Dickson%20-%20The%20Stra
nger.txt
The plant quivered briefly. That was all.
"Now look," said Lindsay, "what good's it going to do you to sulk? If this
thing is completely unfixable, just wave your top back and forth a couple of
times.
If something can be done, just move a little closer to me.
This request got him nowhere. The plant refused to stir.
"I wouldn't bother you," said Torm. "But our friend yonder seems a little too
bovine to be helpful. I've got a hunch you're the one with the brains in this
crowd."
He waited; but flattery, it seemed, would also get him nowhere.
"Very well," said Torm, rising. "You force me to take my trade to the
opposition." He gathered up rod and plates, coil and marble; and went over to
the monster. He poked it in the region where in any reasonable scheme of
bodily organization, it should contain its ribs.
"Pardon me; but about this gimmick . . ."
The monster opened one eye, suspiciously.
"How do I fix this?" demanded Torm.
"Hoot, hoot, hoot, hoot, hoot," said the monster and apparently went back to
sleep.
"Much obliged. But couldn't you be a little more explicit?"
The monster lay quiescent.
CLOAK AND STAGGER 221
"Ah well." Torm Lindsay sat down and resigned himself to fiddling with the
apparatus alone. He tried wrapping the coil around the rod; he tried attaching
it to the various plates; he searched for some evi-
dence of a broken connection point. He picked up the marble and examined it.
"You wouldn't know this," he said confidentially to the motionless and silent
monster, "but I'm sup-
posed to be rather good at intuitive reasoning, ac-
cording to the aptitude tests. Even with good intuitive reasoning, however "
he caught sight suddenly of the plant which was working around in a wide arc
so as to come up behind the monster. He put the equip-
ment down, struggled to his feet, and walked wearily over to confront the
plant.
Page 123
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
It stopped. "Son," said Torm, "this is unworthy of you."
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Gordon%20%20Dickson%20-%20The%20Stra
nger.txt (165 of 190) [10/16/2004 4:39:07 PM]
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Gordon%20%20Dickson%20-%20The%20Stra
nger.txt
The plant quivered.
"I know. He's probably one of your own trail herd;
or maybe he broke out of the pasture once and ate your uncle Otto by mistake.
But I've already toid you
I can't take chances on one of you doing something to the other. I'm just
about positive I'm responsible for this situation we're in; and if I don't get
both of you back in top shape, I can just imagine what kind of reaction I'll
get from the authorities whoever they happen to be. Now, will you go back a
reasonable distance and sit down?"
The plant took half a step toward him.
"All right," said Lindsay, "you asked for it." He looked around for some way
of immobilizing the plant without hurting it. With the exception of the
monster and the equipment, nothing presented itself as providing a possible
restraint. Finally, an idea occurred to him. He took off his one-piece suit of
embassy black, and tied a leg of it around the plant's stem just above the
bulge.
"There," said Torm. The plant swayed and strug-
222 Gordon R. Dickson gled against the weight of the suit. Dragging on the
ground, the tangle of cloth made an effective hobble.
Torm went over and got the equipment- He brought it back and sat down on one
arm of the suit to work on it. The plant was neatly tethered. It quivered
violently at Lindsay.
"Fortunes of war," said Torm, and got back to work.
It was a little hard to concentrate, he found. His headache was getting worse,
and the desert seemed to shimmer and dance in the distance. When he tried to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl fopke.keep.pl
Torm shook his head, walked over and caught up with the plant, and picked it
up from behind. The monster's hooting abruptly ceased. The plant craned itself
around in his hands, quivered energetically, and tried to climb his arm. It
was unsuccessful.
Torm looked from it to the monster. "What's wrong between you two?"
Neither answered. Torm Lindsay shook his head and put the plant down- It
immediately lit out once more in the direction of the monster.
"No," said Torm, going around and getting in its way. "Whatever there is
between you two, we're all in this thing together and we can't afford to take
picks at each other."
The plant was not convinced; it tried to go around
Lindsay. Remembering a technique that had worked before, he slapped at it a
couple of times, lightly. It retreated half a meter, dug itself perhaps twenty
centimeters into the sand, and quivered violently for a good minute.
"Consider me told off again," said Torm. The plant drooped rather limply. "You
shouldn't excite your-
CLOAK AND STAGGER 219
self that way. He" Lindsay glanced over at the monster "isn't doing any harm,
just lying there that way."
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Gordon%20%20Dickson%20-%20The%20Stra
nger.txt (163 of 190) [10/16/2004 4:39:07 PM]
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Gordon%20%20Dickson%20-%20The%20Stra
nger.txt
"Hoot," said the monster.
"Of course, he isn't doing us any good either."
The monster closed his eyes and relaxed. The plant continued to droop.
"Perk up, son," Lindsay said to the plant, "and let's get back to business.
You, at least, were making yourself useful on this gimmick business. Let's go
back and see what can be done about getting it work-
ing again, eh?"
The plant made no response. After a minute, Torm dug the sand away from its
roots, picked it up, and carried it back to the gimmick. It gave a couple of
half-hearted quivers on the way over.
"Cheer up," said Torm. "Nothing is impossible-
Now . . ." He sat down and placed the plant in front of him, between himself
and the apparatus. "Let's see what we have here."
The plant walked off a meter's length or so and stood still. Lindsay poked
interestedly at the gimmick.
In appearance, it was so simple as to appear easily understandable. There were
Page 122
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
several plates spaced along a narrow rod, which seemed to have been twisted
somewhat out of plumb. There was a long coil of fine wire, attached to the
bottom plate and trailing loosely off to one side. And there was a fine,
colorful little object that would have made an excel-
lent child's marble back on Earth if it had not been for the fact that it was
ellipsoidal in shape, rather than spherical.
"Hmmmm." Torm lifted the long coil of wire. It draped nicely in length. "Where
do you suppose this goes?"
It was a good question. The coil was too long to fit between the plates unless
Torm didn't mind having
Gordon R. Dickson
220
a lot left over. But the loose end had an uncompleted look about it, as if it
were supposed to fit somewhere.
"Hey!" Torm called, looking over at the plant. "Give me a hand, here."
The plant ignored him.
"Fine thing! I draw one alien who spends all his time snoozing when he isn't
hooting his head off; and another who's a little bundle of temperament." He
reached over and poked the stem of the plant, gently.
"Hey "
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Gordon%20%20Dickson%20-%20The%20Stra
nger.txt (164 of 190) [10/16/2004 4:39:07 PM]
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Gordon%20%20Dickson%20-%20The%20Stra
nger.txt
The plant quivered briefly. That was all.
"Now look," said Lindsay, "what good's it going to do you to sulk? If this
thing is completely unfixable, just wave your top back and forth a couple of
times.
If something can be done, just move a little closer to me.
This request got him nowhere. The plant refused to stir.
"I wouldn't bother you," said Torm. "But our friend yonder seems a little too
bovine to be helpful. I've got a hunch you're the one with the brains in this
crowd."
He waited; but flattery, it seemed, would also get him nowhere.
"Very well," said Torm, rising. "You force me to take my trade to the
opposition." He gathered up rod and plates, coil and marble; and went over to
the monster. He poked it in the region where in any reasonable scheme of
bodily organization, it should contain its ribs.
"Pardon me; but about this gimmick . . ."
The monster opened one eye, suspiciously.
"How do I fix this?" demanded Torm.
"Hoot, hoot, hoot, hoot, hoot," said the monster and apparently went back to
sleep.
"Much obliged. But couldn't you be a little more explicit?"
The monster lay quiescent.
CLOAK AND STAGGER 221
"Ah well." Torm Lindsay sat down and resigned himself to fiddling with the
apparatus alone. He tried wrapping the coil around the rod; he tried attaching
it to the various plates; he searched for some evi-
dence of a broken connection point. He picked up the marble and examined it.
"You wouldn't know this," he said confidentially to the motionless and silent
monster, "but I'm sup-
posed to be rather good at intuitive reasoning, ac-
cording to the aptitude tests. Even with good intuitive reasoning, however "
he caught sight suddenly of the plant which was working around in a wide arc
so as to come up behind the monster. He put the equip-
ment down, struggled to his feet, and walked wearily over to confront the
plant.
Page 123
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
It stopped. "Son," said Torm, "this is unworthy of you."
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Gordon%20%20Dickson%20-%20The%20Stra
nger.txt (165 of 190) [10/16/2004 4:39:07 PM]
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Gordon%20%20Dickson%20-%20The%20Stra
nger.txt
The plant quivered.
"I know. He's probably one of your own trail herd;
or maybe he broke out of the pasture once and ate your uncle Otto by mistake.
But I've already toid you
I can't take chances on one of you doing something to the other. I'm just
about positive I'm responsible for this situation we're in; and if I don't get
both of you back in top shape, I can just imagine what kind of reaction I'll
get from the authorities whoever they happen to be. Now, will you go back a
reasonable distance and sit down?"
The plant took half a step toward him.
"All right," said Lindsay, "you asked for it." He looked around for some way
of immobilizing the plant without hurting it. With the exception of the
monster and the equipment, nothing presented itself as providing a possible
restraint. Finally, an idea occurred to him. He took off his one-piece suit of
embassy black, and tied a leg of it around the plant's stem just above the
bulge.
"There," said Torm. The plant swayed and strug-
222 Gordon R. Dickson gled against the weight of the suit. Dragging on the
ground, the tangle of cloth made an effective hobble.
Torm went over and got the equipment- He brought it back and sat down on one
arm of the suit to work on it. The plant was neatly tethered. It quivered
violently at Lindsay.
"Fortunes of war," said Torm, and got back to work.
It was a little hard to concentrate, he found. His headache was getting worse,
and the desert seemed to shimmer and dance in the distance. When he tried to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]