"Anthony Piers - Incarnations Of Immortality 2 - Bearing an Hourglass [uc]" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anthony Piers)

"Even when you know the mountain is artificial?" The
man's eyes flicked meaningfully about the landscape.

Norton laughed easily. "I'm just that kind of a fool!"

The man pursed his lips. "Fool? I don't think so." He
shrugged. "Ever think about settling down with a good
woman?"

This fellow got right down to basics! "All the time. But
seldom for more than a week or two."

"Maybe you never encountered one who was good
enough for a year or two."

"Maybe," Norton agreed without embarrassment. "I
prefer to think of it as a distinction of philosophy. I am a
traveling man; most women are stay-at-homes. If I ever
found one who wanted to share my travels—" He paused,
struck by a new thought. "In that sense, they are leaving
me as much as I am leaving them. They prefer their loca-
tion to my company, much as cats do. I move, they
remain—but we know each other's natures at the start.
So no expectations are violated."

"Man does, woman is," the man agreed.

Norton sniffed his rice. "This is about done; it's spelled

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for quick cooking. Have you a dish? I can make one of
wood—" He touched his sturdy hunting knife.

"I won't need one." The man smiled as Norton glanced
askance. "I don't eat, actually. I was just verifying your
hospitality. You were ready to go hungry to share."

"No man can live long without eating, and I can see
you're no ascetic. I'll carve you a dish—"

"My name is Gawain. I'm a ghost."

"Norton, here," Norton said, noticing how the man
accented the first syllable: GOW-an. "I'm a jack of any
trade, expert at none, except maybe taletelling." Then he
did a double take. "Pardon?"

"A ghost," Gawain repeated. "Here, I'll demonstrate."