"Rudy Rucker - Hieronymus Bosch's Apprentice" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rucker Rudy)

Thuy was nowhere to be seen. Although she hadn’t said for sure she’d come back for supper, Jayjay
grew increasingly worried. He wanted to run straight to the Muddy Eel to look for her, but Jeroen
detained him with a seemingly endless discussion of the details of tonight’s commando overpainting raid.

Aleid stayed well out of the conversation; Jayjay had the impression she’d heard enough about the John
the Baptist panel to last her a lifetime.



After supper, Jayjay helped Jeroen prepare a little box with a brush, a small lantern, and six stoppered
vials of paint premixed to shades of yellow, rose and green. Jeroen drew a floor-plan of the St. John’s
Cathedral, and then a detailed blueprint of the Brotherhood’s altar, and then two sketches of the targeted
panel: one with the small kneeling figure of Vladeracken, the other with a fantastic, snaky, spiky plant in
the donor’s place. Jeroen wielded a wonderfully nimble pen, quite mesmerizing to watch.

Finally Jeroen was ready to leave for his all-night vigil. Unless Vladeracken were passed-out drunk, he’d
be in attendance as well.

“I’m sure your wife will be here by the time you’re back,” Jeroen told Jayjay reassuringly. But then a sly,
waggish look crossed his face. “Unless she’s drunk or working as a prostitute.”

“Oh, thanks so much,” said Jayjay flaring up. “Which deadly sin is it when you’re a selfish, inconsiderate
jerk?”

“Pride,” said Bosch, far from abashed. If anything, he was enjoying Jayjay’s reaction. “May the Lord
Jude forgive us our pride, anger and gluttony that we may ever hew to the one true path. Kathelijn, run
across the square and get Goossen’s son Thonis. He’ll be your guide, Jayjay. I’m leaving now. God
bless you. Truly, I’m sure your wife is doing fine.” Was that a mocking flicker of his lizard tongue? He
was gone.

Thonis proved to be a lively youth with a ready laugh, which rang out loudly as Jayjay explained his
mission.

“My uncle’s been talking about this for months,” said Thonis. “He’s a wonderful painter, but he’s crazy.
Nobody really cares about that panel except Jan Vladeracken and Uncle Jeroen. And maybe Victor van
der Moelen. Van der Moelen is the duke’s rent collector; he’s the kind of man who looks at a newborn
babe and sees a page of numbers.”

“Vladeracken said van der Moelen is a walking piece of shit.”

“Yeah? What does that make Jan? A talking pig? Never mind. The reason you’re perfect for this job is
because you’re so small. They lock the church at midnight, you know. We think it’s best if you go in
there now, hide till after closing time, overpaint the panel, then climb out through one of the slits in the
tower. I’ll be waiting for you.”

“How high above the ground is the slit?”

“Too high to jump,” said Thonis. “Can you fly?”