"Picnic At Lac Du Sang" - читать интересную книгу автора (Masterton Graham)

He went to the kitchen, opened the drawer, and took out a carving-knife.
He returned to the bedroom and stood beside Catherine gray-faced. He
nearly decided to do nothing, to let the baby die, hut then he saw
Catherine's stomach shift again, and he knew that he had to give it a
chance.
He inserted the point of the knife into her wrinkled skin, just above her
pubic bone. Then, slowly, he pushed it in through the muscle, until he
felt something more yielding. He was terrified of cutting the baby as
well, but he kept on slicing her stomach open, and she was so decayed and
dry and papery that it was more like cutting open a rotten old hessian
sack. At last he had her stomach wide open, and he drew aside the two
flaps of flesh to reveal her womb.
Shaking and dripping with sweat, he cut the baby out of her. One foot
emerged, and then a hand. Miraculously, it was still alive. It was purple
and slithery and it smelled strongly of amniotic fluid. He turned it over
so that he could cut the umbilical cord, and then he lifted it up in both
hands. It was so tiny, so frail. A baby girl. Her eyes were squeezed shut
and she clasped and unclasped her fingers. She snuffled, and then she let
out two or three pathetic little cries.
Vincent was overwhelmed. He started to sob out loud. Tears ran down his
cheeks and dripped from his chin. He couldn't understand what had happened
to Catherine, but he knew that he had saved the baby's life. He carried
her through to the living-room, laid her on the couch, and then went to
the bathroom to find some towels.


He sped to St Michel-des-Monts through driving, sunlit rain. At times his
speedometer needle wavered over 110 kph. He managed to reach the house
just after eleven o'clock. He ran to the front porch, vaulted up the steps
and banged furiously on the knocker.
Mme Leduc appeared, with Baubay close behind her. 'You came back,' she
said. 'I'm amazed that you had the nerve.'
'Well ... I don't think I had any choice.'
'Catherine?'
He lowered his head. 'You were telling me the truth. Catherine's gone. But
I managed to save her child. I wanted to bring her back here before it was
too late.'
He went back to the car, and opened the door. Very hesitantly, like
somebody who has never felt rain on their skin before, or had sunlight
shining in their eyes, a young girl climbed out, barefoot, but wrapped up
in green bath towels. Vincent took her hand and led her toward the house.
Violette and Baubay watched in silence as she came up the steps. She
looked at least 17 or 18 years old, with long brunette hair, like
Catherine's, and she was almost as pretty, although her features were a
little sharper.
'There,' said Vincent, as he led her into the house. 'You'll be safe
here.'
There were tears in Mme Leduc's eyes. 'I wish that I had never wished,'
she told Vincent.
'Well,' Vincent told her. 'Sometimes we all think that.'