[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
possible. Once they had reached a warmer land, they would stop. The next day, he watched Dubhab as
closely as possible. But the man went about his normal business in a normal manner.
Five
Drummond came out of his white cone several hours after dawn. He moved slowly as if he had aged
considerably overnight or was in great pain. He reported only a slight headache, however. Again, he
asserted that he was innocent.
'Rachel and I have had our trouble, no denying that,' he said. 'And she is very much attracted to you.
I don't know whether it's because she is on the bounce from me or if she would have fallen for you in any
event. Even I can see what she means by your animal magnetism. And you've become doubly attractive
in this world; you could well have been born in it, you fit in with it so well.
'And I don't deny I've been jealous. But, damn it, I'm not a murderer! I'm a scientist! I didn't get my
doctorate by lacking severe self-discipline. I have a tremendous amount of self-control. Too much, in
fact. It's not my nature to kill, and even if it were, I have the strength to repress such an urge.'
Gribardsun waited until he was through. He said, 'All this talk means nothing. When I catch the man
who took your rifle, I'll get his story from him, one way or another. Until then, let's drop the subject.'
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
'But I don't want you suspecting me!' Drummond said. 'You'll never trust me behind you again!'
'I don't trust anyone behind me,' Gribardsun said. 'Everyone is automatically suspect.'
He walked away. An hour later the tribe was ready, and it started down the mountains toward the
great plains of Spain. These were not the semideserts that Gribardsun had known. They were well
watered and covered with grass and there were many trees. They also had an abundance of animal life:
great herds of bison, horses; the giant aurochs, and the infrequent mammoths and rhinoceroses. The lions
of the plains were smaller than the cave lions; they resembled the African lion of the reservations of the
twenty-first century.
Gribardsun said that even now he found it strange to see lions in snow. But then that was just
because he had associated the big cats with the tropics. After all, the Siberian tiger and the snow leopard
of the twentieth century (both extinct in the twenty-first) had lived quite well in freezing climates.
He decided to camp for several weeks. The place chosen would be, in approximately 11,000 years
or so, the city of Madrid. He ignored the protests of the tribesmen, who said that he was contradicting
himself in stopping here when he had said that they would not pause until they reached a warm country.
He told them that he wanted to study the hunting habits of lions in snow and ice. Moreover, there was a
tribe about six miles away which could provide another language for von Billmann's recorders.
Lramg'bud, a juvenile, was blooded at this time. With an atlatl and two spears, a stone axe and a
knife, he went after a male lion that was eating a freshly killed horse. The lion acted as if it could not
believe the stupidity of the man. Surely no one would be unintelligent enough to attack it while it was
dining. But Lramg'bud went on in, looking brave enough, though there was no telling what his feelings
were. The lion at last decided that he would not put up with the fool dancing around and stabbing at him.
He charged, and the youth slammed a spear through the big cat's shoulder with an atlatl. The lion got up
on three legs, and Lramg'bud drove his second spear deep into its chest. Despite this, the lion got to him
and knocked his axe away with a bat of his massive paw. Lramg'bud seized the spear sticking from the
chest and clung to it while the lion carried him backward. Suddenly, the beast collapsed; blood poured
from its mouth; its eyes glazed. And Lramg'bud had a lion's head and lion's skin cloak to wear.
Everybody was happy, and the warriors feasted on lion meat that evening. Gribardsun ate his share
raw. Lately he seldom ate cooked meat. Von Billmann had joked about this, and the Englishman had
replied that he had always preferred raw meat. Von Billmann said that it was dangerous; raw meat was
too likely to be infested with parasites. Gribardsun had merely smiled and continued chewing.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl rafalstec.xlx.pl
possible. Once they had reached a warmer land, they would stop. The next day, he watched Dubhab as
closely as possible. But the man went about his normal business in a normal manner.
Five
Drummond came out of his white cone several hours after dawn. He moved slowly as if he had aged
considerably overnight or was in great pain. He reported only a slight headache, however. Again, he
asserted that he was innocent.
'Rachel and I have had our trouble, no denying that,' he said. 'And she is very much attracted to you.
I don't know whether it's because she is on the bounce from me or if she would have fallen for you in any
event. Even I can see what she means by your animal magnetism. And you've become doubly attractive
in this world; you could well have been born in it, you fit in with it so well.
'And I don't deny I've been jealous. But, damn it, I'm not a murderer! I'm a scientist! I didn't get my
doctorate by lacking severe self-discipline. I have a tremendous amount of self-control. Too much, in
fact. It's not my nature to kill, and even if it were, I have the strength to repress such an urge.'
Gribardsun waited until he was through. He said, 'All this talk means nothing. When I catch the man
who took your rifle, I'll get his story from him, one way or another. Until then, let's drop the subject.'
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
'But I don't want you suspecting me!' Drummond said. 'You'll never trust me behind you again!'
'I don't trust anyone behind me,' Gribardsun said. 'Everyone is automatically suspect.'
He walked away. An hour later the tribe was ready, and it started down the mountains toward the
great plains of Spain. These were not the semideserts that Gribardsun had known. They were well
watered and covered with grass and there were many trees. They also had an abundance of animal life:
great herds of bison, horses; the giant aurochs, and the infrequent mammoths and rhinoceroses. The lions
of the plains were smaller than the cave lions; they resembled the African lion of the reservations of the
twenty-first century.
Gribardsun said that even now he found it strange to see lions in snow. But then that was just
because he had associated the big cats with the tropics. After all, the Siberian tiger and the snow leopard
of the twentieth century (both extinct in the twenty-first) had lived quite well in freezing climates.
He decided to camp for several weeks. The place chosen would be, in approximately 11,000 years
or so, the city of Madrid. He ignored the protests of the tribesmen, who said that he was contradicting
himself in stopping here when he had said that they would not pause until they reached a warm country.
He told them that he wanted to study the hunting habits of lions in snow and ice. Moreover, there was a
tribe about six miles away which could provide another language for von Billmann's recorders.
Lramg'bud, a juvenile, was blooded at this time. With an atlatl and two spears, a stone axe and a
knife, he went after a male lion that was eating a freshly killed horse. The lion acted as if it could not
believe the stupidity of the man. Surely no one would be unintelligent enough to attack it while it was
dining. But Lramg'bud went on in, looking brave enough, though there was no telling what his feelings
were. The lion at last decided that he would not put up with the fool dancing around and stabbing at him.
He charged, and the youth slammed a spear through the big cat's shoulder with an atlatl. The lion got up
on three legs, and Lramg'bud drove his second spear deep into its chest. Despite this, the lion got to him
and knocked his axe away with a bat of his massive paw. Lramg'bud seized the spear sticking from the
chest and clung to it while the lion carried him backward. Suddenly, the beast collapsed; blood poured
from its mouth; its eyes glazed. And Lramg'bud had a lion's head and lion's skin cloak to wear.
Everybody was happy, and the warriors feasted on lion meat that evening. Gribardsun ate his share
raw. Lately he seldom ate cooked meat. Von Billmann had joked about this, and the Englishman had
replied that he had always preferred raw meat. Von Billmann said that it was dangerous; raw meat was
too likely to be infested with parasites. Gribardsun had merely smiled and continued chewing.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]