"William Morrison - Bad Medicine" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morrison William)

The wings had all been tied, and Waloo carefully mounted the animal's back, his feet wrapping
closely around it. Then he cautiously bit one of the vertebrae just below the megapod's neck. With one
startled spring, his steed was leaping high in the air.
 WITHOUT the wings to retard its descent, the megapod came down again as quickly as it had gone
up, and landed with a shock that sent a tremor through its body. His legs wrapped firmly about it, Waloo
held on. The megapod leaped again.
This time, with the pain of the descent, it staggered and almost fell. The next leap was not so high,
and the following one still lower. Within a few minutes the megapod had become so bruised that it
refused to spring. Then Waloo carefully untied the hind wings, and bit the megapod's neck again. The
megapod leaped, and on the descent, spread its two free wings. The shock was not so severe now.
In half an hour, Waloo had reached the stage where he dared untie all the wings. The megapod no
longer attempted to throw him off its back, and Trenhoim and O'Hara watched in fascination as the
animal and its rider went floating about the field.
A sudden crunching sound on the ground nearby drew the Earthmen's attention. A Saturnian was
approaching, his eyes fixed on Waloo. His face showed an expression of deep anger.
"We'd better warn the damn fool," O'Hara whispered to his partner.
Waloo was unconscious of the danger. Then the Saturnian bellowed suddenly in a voice that sounded
like the roar of a hundred bulls, and from behind him came an answering bellow. The megapod, startled,
leaped into the air, and, spreading his wings, turned upside down. Waloo began to slip off, clutching
desperately at the animal's back to keep his balance. But his efforts were in vain. As he fell, the megapod
turned right side up, hit the ground again, and bounded away.
"What do we do now?" O'Hara demanded.
"We run," Trenholm said. "Somebody is sure to send for the patrol. We can't afford to wait for it."
"But Waloo—"
"The worst he'll get is a month or two. They'd give us ten years and recondition us. Do you want
that?"
"But we've still got some unsold bottles!"
"We've taken in enough satargyrite to be sitting pretty the rest of our lives. Come on!"
Waloo was lying where he had fallen, stunned. They ran without looking back toward him. At first
the noise of the Saturnians behind them died away, but as they approached the space ship, it suddenly
grew in intensity once more.
Waloo was coming after them in great twenty-foot strides. Behind him, the pack of Saturnians was
howling their heads off, calling on him to stop. Waloo paid them as much attention as if they hadn't
existed.
A hundred yards from the ship, he passed O'Hara and Trenholm, who had to swerve aside to
prevent being run over by his hurtling body. He got to the ship five seconds ahead of them, and slammed
the door in their faces.
"What do we do now?" O'Hara cried. "If they decide to make up for losing Waloo by taking it out
on us—"
But the Saturnians were not interested in the Earthmen. They wanted Waloo. Through the transparent
windows of the space ship, they could see him, the key to the door in his hand.

THEY shouted at him; they cursed; they urged him to come out and take his medicine like a man. But
Waloo didn't budge. Then the Saturnians, in their rage, began to bang against the ship.
"They'll wreck it," O'Hara moaned. "And the patrol will be coming back soon!"
Trenhoim was breathing hard.
"The first thing to do," he said, "is to calm down. Take it easy, O'Hara. It'll be a half hour before the
patrol gets here, and we've got plenty of time. We've got to calm these Saturnians and get Waloo out of
the ship."
"Is that all?" scoffed O'Hara excitedly.