[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
"So you want to cross the river," she said; after I had told her what it was
like, there.
I shrugged.
**We don't have to," I answered. "We can go upriver, or downriver, and we may
even run into a bridge, somewhere, crossing it But summer isnt going to last
forever; and the more I think about it, die more it seems to me that we ought
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
to keep heading due east If s our best chance to find some large civilized
group that* s survived the time storms.'*
So it was settled-more or less. I did some planning, out loud, with Marie and
the girl listening. The dogs could swim, of course. So could Sunday and we
adutta- or, rather, we two adults and the one near-adutt, who was tile girt
Wendy, the equipment and the supplies could be rafted over. Reducing the raft
load to Wendy and our possessions meant we would need only a relatively small
raft Luckily we had a hammer and even some nails along, although, actually, I
had decided to save the nails and chain the logs of the raft together with the
dog chains, for maximum safety.
As I mentioned earlier, I had been looking forward to the evening-and Marie.
However, it developed that Wendy was either coming down sick with something,
or upset by die travel; Marie gave me to understand that, as far as that night
went, she would be tied up with family matters. So as not to waste time, I
took advantage of the long twilight to go down on the beach and make a start
gathering the togs for the raft, then chopping them to length with Marie's
axe.
Sunday and the girl went down there with me; and as things turned out, I built
a fire and went on working by that, even after the sunset left us; so that we
ended up making a separate camp down there. Just before I turned in for the
night, something occurred to me.
"You know," I said to the girl, looking across the fire to where she sat with
Sunday, "we left that raft of the lizards in one hell of a hurry, that night I
remember pulling you through the water; but I don't really remember how well
you can swim-or even if you can really swifli. Can you? Do you think you can
make it across the river?"
I expected a nod or a shake of the head at the most But to my surprise, she
answered in words. 'Tm not going." I stared at her.
"What do you mean-you're not going?" I exploded. "Do you think you can stay
here on this side of the river, alone? Get that thought out of your mind.
You're going." She shook her head, looking not at me, but at the fire. I sat,
staring at her, too angry for words. Then I took hold of my anger with both
hands, figuratively speaking, and tried to tqiic; calmly.
"Look," I said, as reasonably as I knew how. "We've been together for some
time, you and I and Sunday. But nothing lasts forever. You must have known
that sooner or later we were going to be meeting other people and joining
them, or they'd be joining us....**
I went on talking, calmly and persuasively, using all the arguments I had used
to myself the day before, and doing, I thought, a good job of it It was only
common sense I was telling her; and I pointed this out to the girt Aside from
her youth and sex, any single person stood a much reduced chance of survival.
What would she do with herself? Practical matters aside, Sunday would miss
her. For mat matter I would miss her, myself....
I was talking away quite earnestly, and even beginning to think that I was
getting through to her, when she got up suddenly and walked away out of the
circle of firelight leaving me in mid-sentence.
I stared after her into the darkness. Something cold came in out of the night
and sat down on my chest. For the first time, it occurred to me that she could
actually be meaning to do what she had just said she would.
Page 56
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
An hour after sunrise, Marie, Wendy, our equipment, supplies, dogs and all
were down on the beach watching me finish off the raft Watching and helping,
as much as they could. It was Marie who brought up the subject of the girt [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl exclamation.htw.pl
"So you want to cross the river," she said; after I had told her what it was
like, there.
I shrugged.
**We don't have to," I answered. "We can go upriver, or downriver, and we may
even run into a bridge, somewhere, crossing it But summer isnt going to last
forever; and the more I think about it, die more it seems to me that we ought
Page 55
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
to keep heading due east If s our best chance to find some large civilized
group that* s survived the time storms.'*
So it was settled-more or less. I did some planning, out loud, with Marie and
the girl listening. The dogs could swim, of course. So could Sunday and we
adutta- or, rather, we two adults and the one near-adutt, who was tile girt
Wendy, the equipment and the supplies could be rafted over. Reducing the raft
load to Wendy and our possessions meant we would need only a relatively small
raft Luckily we had a hammer and even some nails along, although, actually, I
had decided to save the nails and chain the logs of the raft together with the
dog chains, for maximum safety.
As I mentioned earlier, I had been looking forward to the evening-and Marie.
However, it developed that Wendy was either coming down sick with something,
or upset by die travel; Marie gave me to understand that, as far as that night
went, she would be tied up with family matters. So as not to waste time, I
took advantage of the long twilight to go down on the beach and make a start
gathering the togs for the raft, then chopping them to length with Marie's
axe.
Sunday and the girl went down there with me; and as things turned out, I built
a fire and went on working by that, even after the sunset left us; so that we
ended up making a separate camp down there. Just before I turned in for the
night, something occurred to me.
"You know," I said to the girl, looking across the fire to where she sat with
Sunday, "we left that raft of the lizards in one hell of a hurry, that night I
remember pulling you through the water; but I don't really remember how well
you can swim-or even if you can really swifli. Can you? Do you think you can
make it across the river?"
I expected a nod or a shake of the head at the most But to my surprise, she
answered in words. 'Tm not going." I stared at her.
"What do you mean-you're not going?" I exploded. "Do you think you can stay
here on this side of the river, alone? Get that thought out of your mind.
You're going." She shook her head, looking not at me, but at the fire. I sat,
staring at her, too angry for words. Then I took hold of my anger with both
hands, figuratively speaking, and tried to tqiic; calmly.
"Look," I said, as reasonably as I knew how. "We've been together for some
time, you and I and Sunday. But nothing lasts forever. You must have known
that sooner or later we were going to be meeting other people and joining
them, or they'd be joining us....**
I went on talking, calmly and persuasively, using all the arguments I had used
to myself the day before, and doing, I thought, a good job of it It was only
common sense I was telling her; and I pointed this out to the girt Aside from
her youth and sex, any single person stood a much reduced chance of survival.
What would she do with herself? Practical matters aside, Sunday would miss
her. For mat matter I would miss her, myself....
I was talking away quite earnestly, and even beginning to think that I was
getting through to her, when she got up suddenly and walked away out of the
circle of firelight leaving me in mid-sentence.
I stared after her into the darkness. Something cold came in out of the night
and sat down on my chest. For the first time, it occurred to me that she could
actually be meaning to do what she had just said she would.
Page 56
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
An hour after sunrise, Marie, Wendy, our equipment, supplies, dogs and all
were down on the beach watching me finish off the raft Watching and helping,
as much as they could. It was Marie who brought up the subject of the girt [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]