"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 20 - Web of Sand" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

streaming over his rounded cheeks. "God—dear God!"

A man lost in the past or dreaming of what he had known or
touched by a gentleness hitherto unsuspected and frightening in
its overwhelming tenderness. He did not weep alone. The face of
Chai Teoh glistened with moist color, shimmering pearls falling
unheeded from the line of her jaw as she stood lost in a radiant
pleasure. As Santis stood, his scarred face a prison for his eyes,
the eyes wells of somber introspection. Mettalus said, "This is
fantastic! I've never—"

"Be silent!" snapped the mercenary. "Hold your tongue!" His
scowl deepened as the singing faltered and then, reluctantly,
faded to quaver and finally to cease leaving a silence so intense
that it could almost be felt as a tangible presence. As the sound
died so the shimmering colors diminished, closing in to form a
luminescent cloud, a ball, a tinge on the surface of the crystal, a
memory.

For a long moment Marta Caine held her poise then, slowly,
she lowered her hands to stand looking at the dull surface of the
gem. Robbed of its magic she looked as she was, a woman too old
for comfort, one who had lived hard and who showed it. The
face, lax, showed the marks of cheap cosmetic surgery; subtle
distortions of ill-matched implants giving her a pathetically
clownish appearance. Her hair looked like the graft it was. Her
eyes when she finally raised her head, betrayed her misery.

For a moment only and then the mask reappeared, the hard
cynicism which was her defense against misfortune and her
shield against derision. "Well? Did you like it?"

"It was superb!!" Chai Teoh dabbed at her eyes. "So
wonderful! I felt as if—oh, how can I explain?" Grish Mettalus
was direct.."How much?"

"For what?"

"For the jewel, of course, what else? I want it. How much?"

"It isn't for sale."

"And if it were I would buy it," said Kemmer. "Marta, you
have been most gracious. I think I speak on behalf of us all when
I thank you for having let us share the pleasure given by your
jewel. From Necho, you say?"

"Yes."

"Necho." Kemmer pursed his lips. "A long way from here but,