"H. Beam Piper - Time and Time Again" - читать интересную книгу автора (Piper H Beam)

"Well, I have a Colt .38-special," he said, "but you know, I belong to this Auxiliary Police outfit. If I were
called out for duty, this evening, I'd need it. How soon could you bring it back?"

Something clicked in Allan Hartley's mind. He remembered, now, what that incident had been. He knew,
too, what he had to do.

"Dad, aren't there some cartridges left for the Luger?" he asked.
Blake Hartley snapped his fingers. "By George, yes! I have a German automatic I can let you have, but I
wish you'd bring it back as soon as possible. I'll get it for you."

Before he could rise, Allan was on his feet.

"Sit still, Dad; I'll get it. I know where the cartridges are." With that, he darted into the house and
upstairs.

The Luger hung on the wall over his father's bed. Getting it down, he dismounted it, working with rapid
precision. He used the blade of his pocketknife to unlock the endpiece of the breechblock, slipping out
the firing pin and buttoning it into his shirt pocket. Then he reassembled the harmless pistol, and filled the
clip with 9-millimeter cartridges from the bureau drawer.

There was an extension telephone beside the bed. Finding Gutchall's address in the directory, he lifted the
telephone, and stretched his handkerchief over the mouthpiece. Then he dialed Police Headquarters.




"This is Blake Hartley," he lied, deepening his voice and copying his father's tone. "Frank Gutchall, who
lives at...take this down"—he gave Gutchall's address—"has just borrowed a pistol from me, ostensibly
to shoot a dog. He has no dog. He intends shooting his wife. Don't argue about how I know; there isn't
time. Just take it for granted that I do. I disabled the pistol—took out the firing pin—but if he finds out
what I did, he may get some other weapon. He's on his way home, but he's on foot. If you hurry, you
may get a man there before he arrives, and grab him before he finds out the pistol won't shoot."

"O. K., Mr. Hartley. We'll take care of it. Thanks."

"And I wish you'd get my pistol back, as soon as you can. It's something I brought home from the other
War, and I shouldn't like to lose it."
"We'll take care of that, too. Thank you, Mr. Hartley."

He hung up, and carried the Luger and the loaded clip down to the porch.




"Look, Mr. Gutchall; here's how it works," he said, showing it to the visitor. Then he slapped in the clip
and yanked up on the toggle loading the chamber. "It's ready to shoot, now; this is the safety." He pushed
it on. "When you're ready to shoot, just shove it forward and up, and then pull the trigger. You have to
pull the trigger each time; it's loaded for eight shots. And be sure to put the safety back when you're
through shooting."