"Myst - 01 - The Book Of Atrus" - читать интересную книгу автора (Miller Rand)

had moved, there was no sign.

He frowned, then looked to his grandmother, but if she understood his look, she
didn't show it.

"Put the seeds in the kitchen," she said quietly, lifting the bolt of silk onto
her shoulder. "We'll plant them tomorrow. Then come back and help me with the
rest of the cloth."

As he came back from the storeroom, he saw that Anna was waiting for him on the
broad stone ledge at the far end of the garden. Even from where he stood he
could see how tired she was. Crossing the rope bridge to the main house, he went
quickly down the narrow steps that hugged the wall and, keeping carefully to the
smooth, protruding rocks that delineated the pools western edge, crouched and,
taking the metal ladle from its peg, leaned across and dipped it into the still,
mirror-like surface.

Standing again, he went swiftly along the edge, his toes hugging the rock,
careful not to spill a drop of precious water, stopping beside the ledge on
which Anna sat.

She looked up at him and smiled; a weary, loving smile.

"Thank you," she said, taking the ladle and drinking from it, then offered it
back.

"No," he said softly, shaking his head. "You finish it."

With a smile, she drained the ladle and handed it back.

"Well, Atrus," she said, suddenly relaxed, as if the water had washed the
tiredness from her. "What did you see?"

He hesitated, then. "I saw a brown cloth sack, and the sack moved."

Her laughter was unexpected. Atrus frowned, then grinned as she produced the
sack from within the folds of her cloak. It was strange, for it seemed not to
hold anything. Not only that, but the cloth of the sack was odd-much coarser
than those the traders normally used. It was as if it had been woven using only
half the threads. If it had held salt, the salt would have spilled through the
holes in the cloth, yet the sack held something.

"Well?" she said, amused by his reaction. "Are you going to take it?"

He stared at her, genuinely surprised. "For me?"

"Yes," she said. "For you."

Gingerly, he took it from her, noticing that the sack's mouth was tied with the
same red twine as the seed bag.