"Gordon R. Dickson - The Cloak and the Staff" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dickson Gordon R)

naked sides under the robe. His mind had gone into high gear, racing like an uncontrolled heartbeat.
What way out was there? There must be one—if he could think of it. The other side of the coin to what
they would do to the girl was built on the same lack of sadism. The Aalaag would only destroy property
for some purpose. If there was no purpose, they would not waste a useful beast. They would have no
emotional stake in keeping her merely because she had been arrested in the first place. She was too
insignificant; they were too pragmatic.

His mind was feverish. He was not sure what he planned, but all his intimate knowledge of the Aalaag in
the three years he had lived closely with them was simmering and bubbling in the back of his mind. He
went and stood before the Aalaag at the desk.

“Yes?” said the Aalaag, after a little while, looking up at him.

“Untarnished sir, the Captain Commander said that he would be back in an hour to accept my messages,
but until then I should be dutiful but comfortable.”
Eyes with grey-black pupils gazed at him on a level with his own.

“You want comfort, is that it?”

“Untarnished sir, if I could sit or lie, it would be appreciated.”

“Yes. Very well. The Commander has so ordered. Go find what facilities there are for such activities in
the areas of our own cattle. Return in an hour.”

“I am grateful to the untarnished sir.”

The grey-black pupils were cast into shadow by the jet brows coming together.

“This is a matter of orders. I am not one who allows his beasts to fawn.”

“Sir, I obey.”

The brows relaxed.

“Better. Go.”

He went out. He was moving swiftly now. As when before, in Denmark, he was at last caught up in what
he was doing. There was no longer any doubt, any hesitation. He went swiftly down the outside corridor
which was deserted, ears and eyes alert for sign of anyone, but particularly one of the aliens. As he
passed the elevators, he stopped, looked about him.

There was no one watching; and once aboard the elevator he would be able to go from this floor down
to street level or below without being seen. There would be other doors to the outside than the one by
which he had come in; and on other levels, sub-main-floor levels, he could possibly find them. There
would be portals used only by the Aalaag themselves and their most trusted servants, and they would be
free to come and go without being noticed.

He punched for the elevator. After a moment it came. The doors swung wide. As it opened he turned
away and readied himself to pretend—in case there was an Aalaag aboard—that he was merely passing
by. But the elevator compartment was empty.