"Longyear, Barry - Circus World 2 - Elephant Song - uc" - читать интересную книгу автора (Longyear Barry)

"Get some lights on and move tube number one to the bottom, facing the doors. I'll get 'em open."

Pony Red shook Bullhook's shoulder. "You can't get through any of the tubes; especially number one. Six of the eight bulls in there have broken loose. We're trying now to get a crew around to open the doors from the outside."

Bullhook began to pull himself down the companionway.

"Dammit, Pony, if they won't open from the inside, they sure as hell can't be opened from the outside. Not in time. Just get tube number one facing the doors. I'll get through." "Why number one?" "Ming is in number one."

Bullhook walked between the two men and felt his way down the corridor until he reached the port to the main bay. He pulled himself through, ignored the elevator, and began working his way down the access ladder. Half of the way down nausea and dizziness washed over him as the pain in his head flashed lights before his eyes. He hung onto the ladder, resting his cheek against one of its cleated rungs. The smoke covered him like a hot blanket; the screams from the animals numbed his ears.

Crying. Just barely audible, there was crying among the screams. Lights went on in the access tube, turning the blackness into a dark gray pall. Bullhook Willy lowered himself another rung, then another, until he stood on the lower deck access compartment to the main carrousel. The air was a bit better. Fresh, cool air. He glanced to his left and could see the hazy outline of an open maintenance port. Through the man-sized doorway, he could see green grass. He turned from the ladder and lurched toward the closed doors that opened into the tubes as the rumble of the main carrousel turning vibrated the shuttle.

Before the doors, three figures knelt over a fourth. One of the kneeling figures stood and grabbed Bullhook. "What're you doin' here, Bullhook? You can hardly stand."

Bullhook forced his eyes to resolve the images before him. Packy Dern was holding him; Waco Whacko and Dot the Pot were kneeling over the still body of Haystack Harry. "What happened, Packy?"

The bullhand nodded toward Haystack. "Waco and I managed to pull him out of the number four tube. Too late." He looked back at Bullhook. "There's some others still in there."

"What about the rest of the bullhands?"

Packy shook his head. "God, I don't know. Most of 'em must be out of the shuttle by now."

Bullhook closed his eyes for a moment. "Waco. Get Dot out of here. Go through that open maintenance port."

The snake charmer looked over his shoulder at the boss elephant man. "What about you?"

Bullhook moved over and pulled Dot the Pot to her feet.

"Haystack's been exed, Dot. You have to get out of here."

Dot wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I can't just leave him. Don't make me leave him."

"Packy and I'll take care of him. You go with Waco now. You're just in the way."

The snake charmer stood, held Dot's arm, and looked at Bullhook. "What about you?"

"I'll be along."

The snake charmer studied Bullhook with dark, narrowed eyes. "There aren't any heroes in the circus, Bullhook; just dead troupers and live ones."

"Get along, Waco." He placed a hand on the snake charmer's shoulder. "I'll be all right."

Waco spat on the deck and turned Dot the Pot toward the maintenance port. As the pair moved toward the opening, Bull-hook pointed at the body. "Packy, grab Haystack and get out of here."

Packy Dem shook his head. "I heard the big cage turning, Bullhook. If you open those doors, it'll take about two seconds for this compartment to be full up with damned mad pachyderms."

The boss elephant man motioned with his bullhook toward the body. "Get Haystack and beat it. I have to get to the other end and open the main hatch."

"There's a crew outside working on it now."