"Eric Frank Russel - The Space Willies" - читать интересную книгу автора (Russell Eric Frank)

difficult than it seems."
"Not this ship," Markham retorted. "She carries an effective
charge in her engine room. The pilot need only press a button
to scatter the power units piecemeal over a wide area."
"I see."
"That charge is the sole explosive aboard, The ship carries
no armament of any sort. It's a stripped-down vessel with
everything sacrificed for the sake of speed, and its only de-
fense is to scoot good and fast. That, I assure you, it can do.
Nothing in the galaxy can catch it, providing it's squirting
from all twenty propulsors."
"Sounds good to me, sir," approved Leeming, licking his
lips.
"It is good. It's got to be good. The unanswered question
is that of whether it's good enough to take the beating of a
long, long trip. The tubes are the weakest part of any space-
ship. Sooner or later they burn out. That's what bothers me.
The tubes on this ship have very special linings. In theory
they should last for months. In practice they might not. You
know what that means?"
"No repairs and no replacements in enemy territory - no
means of getting back," Leeming offered.
"Correct. And the vessel would have to be destroyed. From
that moment the pilot, if still surviving, has isolated himself
somewhere within the mists of Creation. His chances of see-
ing humankind again are remote enough to verge upon the
impossible."
"There could be worse situations. I'd rather be alive some
place else than stone-dead here. While there's life there's
hope."
"You still wish to go through with this?"
"Sure thing, sir."
"Then upon your own head be it," said Markham with
grim humor. "Go along the corridor, seventh door on the
right, and report to Colonel Farmer. Tell him I sent you."
"Yes, sir."
"And before you go, try that damned zipper again."
Obediently, Leeming tried it. The thing slid all the way as
smoothly as if oiled. He stared at the other with a mixture
of astonishment and injured innocence.
"I started in the ranks and I haven't forgotten it," said
Markham, pointedly. "You can't fool me."
Colonel Farmer, of Military Intelligence, was a beefy,
florid-faced character who looked slightly dumb but had a
sharp mind. He was examining a huge star-map hung upon one
wall when Leeming walked in. Farmer swung around as



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