"Murray Leinster - Med Ship" - читать интересную книгу автора (Leinster Murray)

they'd have to go but they knew where to go when they did. So when they got their
warning, they left. On three highways, to the east. And we'll follow them and ask what
the hell they ran away from. Nothing's visible here!"
He went back to the Med Ship, Murgatroyd skipping with him. As the airlock door
closed behind them, he heard a click from the outside-microphone speakers. He listened.
It was the doubled clicking, as of something turned on and almost at once turned off
again. There was a two-second cycle—the same as that of the power-drain. Something
drawing six million kilowatts went on and immediately off again every two seconds. It
made a sound in speakers linked to outside microphones, but it didn't make a noise in the
air. The microphone clicks were induction; pick-up; like cross-talk on defective telephone
cables.
Calhoun shrugged his shoulders almost up to his ears. He went to the communicator.
"Calling Candida—" he began, and the answer almost leaped down his throat.
"Candida to Med Ship. Come in! Come in! What's happened down there?"
 "The city's deserted without any sign of panic," said Calhoun, "and there's power and
nothing seems to be broken down. But it's as if somebody had said, 'Everybody clear out'
and they did. That doesn't happen on a whim! What's your next port of call?"
The Candida's voice told him, hopefully.
"Take a report," commanded Calhoun. "Deliver it to the public-health office
immediately after you land. They'll get it to Med Service sector headquarters. I'm going
to stay here and find out what's been going on."
He dictated, growing irritated as he did so because he couldn't explain what he
reported. Something serious had taken place, but there was no clue as to what it was.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't certainly a public-health affair. But any emergency the size of
this one involved public-health factors.
"I'm remaining aground to investigate," finished Calhoun. "I will report further when
or if it is possible. Message ends."
"What about our passenger?"
"To the devil with your passenger!" said Calhoun peevishly. "Do as you please!"
He cut off the communicator and prepared for activity outside the ship. Presently he
and Murgatroyd went to look for transportation. The Med Ship couldn't be used for a
search operation. It didn't carry enough rocket-fuel. They'd have to use a ground vehicle.
It was again shocking to note that nothing had moved but sun-shadows. Again it
seemed that everybody had simply walked out of some door or other and failed to come
back. Calhoun saw the windows of jewellers' shops. Treasures lay unguarded in plain
view. He saw a florist's shop. Here there were Earth-type flowers apparently thriving, and
some strangely beautiful flowers with olive green foliage which throve as well as the
Earth-plants. There was a cage in which a plant had grown, and that plant was wilting and
about to rot. But a plant that had to be grown in a cage . . .
He found a ground-car agency, perhaps for imported cars, perhaps for those built on
Maya. He went in. There were cars on display. He chose one—an elaborate sports car. He
turned its key and it hummed. He drove it carefully out into the empty street. Murgatroyd
sat interestedly beside him.
"This is luxury, Murgatroyd," said Calhoun. "Also it's grand theft. We medical
characters can't usually afford such things or have an excuse to steal them. But these are
parlous times. We take a chance."
"Chee!" said Murgatroyd.
"We want to find a fugitive population and ask what they ran away from. As of the
moment, it seems that they ran away from nothing. They may be pleased to know they
can come back."