"Jack Vance - Elder Isles 2 - The Green Pearl" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vance Jack)

boats. Around the harbour huddled the village Mynault: a clutch of narrow
stone houses, two taverns and a marketplace.

In one of the houses lived the fisherman Sarles, a man black-haired and
stocky, with heavy hips and a small round paunch. His face, which was
round, pale and moony, showed, a constant frown of puzzlement, as if he
found life and logic always at odds.

The bloom of Sarles' youth was gone forever, but Sarles had little to
show for his years of more or less diligent toil. Sarles blamed bad luck,
although if his spouse Liba were to be believed, indolence was by far the
larger factor.

Sarles kept his boat the Preval drawn up on the shingle directly in front
of his house, which made for convenience. He had inherited the Preval
from his father, and the craft was now old and worn, with every seam
leaking and every joint working. Sarles well knew the deficiencies of the
Preval and sailed it out upon the sea only when the weather was fine.

Liba, like Sarles, was somewhat portly. Though older than Sarles, she
commanded far more energy and often asked him: "Why are you not out
fishing today, like the other men?"

Sarles' reply might be: "The wind is sure to pipe up later this afternoon;
the dead-eyes on the port shrouds simply cannot take so much strain.'

"Then why not replace the dead-eyes? You have nothing better to do."
 "Woman, enough! Would you deny me my single relaxation?"

"Indeed I would! Everyone else is out on the water while you sit in the
sun catching flies. Your cousin Junt left the harbour before dawn to make
sure of his mackerel! Why did you not do the same?"

"Junt does not suffer miseries of the back as I do," muttered Sarles.
"Also he sails the Lirlou, which is a fine new boat."

"It is the fisherman who catches fish, not the boat. Junt brings in six
times the catch you do."

"Only because his son Tamas fishes beside him."

"Which means that each out-fishes you three times over."

Sarles cried out in anger: "Woman, when will you learn to curb your
tongue? I would be off to the tavern this instant had I one coin to rub
against another."

"Why not use the leisure to repair the Prevail" Sarles threw his hands in
the air and went down to the beach where he assessed the deficiences of
his craft. With nothing better to do, he carved a new dead-eye for his