"Robert F. Young - The Other Kids" - читать интересную книгу автора (Young Robert F)

he was so excited he couldn't finish his cereal. He gulped down his milk, choking a little, and ran into the
hall for his coat and leggings. His mother made him wear the wool scarf that always prickled his neck,
and she buttoned the flaps of his toboggan hat in under his chin.
He ran out into the bright morning—
And there the memory stopped. Try as he would, the lieutenant couldn't recall the rest of it.
Finally he gave up and devoted his attention to the saucer. The memory had no business in his mind
at such a time anyway, and he couldn't understand what had evoked it.
"Do you think we'll have trouble, sir?" he asked the captain.
"We didn't come out here on a picnic, Lieutenant. Of course there'll be trouble. This may even be an
act of war."
"Or of peace."
The captain's seamed face grew red. "Do you consider sneaking down during the night, eluding our
radar, and landing way out here in the sticks an act of peace, Lieutenant?"
"But it's such an insignificant little ship—if it is a ship. It's almost like a toy. Why, bet if you rubbed it a
genie would appear."
"Lieutenant, I consider your attitude unmilitary. You're talking like a child."
"Sorry, sir."
The morning had grown quiet. The sound of the crowd had diminished to an occasional shuffling of
restless feet and an occasional mutter of voices. The soldiers lay silently in the dun meadow grass. High in
the cloudless sky a V of geese soared sedately south.
Suddenly the village church bell began to peal. The sound washed over the fields in sonorous,
shocking waves. Even the captain jumped a little. But he recovered himself so quickly that no one
noticed.
He lit a cigarette slowly and deliberately.
"I hope all you men remembered to bring your hymn books," he said in a loud voice.
Nervous laughter rippled round the circle of waiting soldiers. "Hallelujah!" someone shouted. The old
man was a good Joe after all.
The last peal of the bell lingered for a long time, then gradually trailed away. The crowd whispered to
itself, but remained intact. The sheriff pulled out a red bandanna handkerchief and began polishing the
barrel of his .270. He stood just behind the two officers.
The saucer gleamed enigmatically in the sunlight. The captain's eyes were starting to ache and he
looked away for a moment to rest them. When he looked back the top half of the saucer was rising like
the top section of a clam shell.
It rose slowly, up and back, gashing in the sunlight. Presently it stopped and something climbed out of
its interior and slipped to the ground. Something with big bright eyes and too many limbs.
The captain drew his .45. Rifle bolts snickered around the circle of soldiers.
"It looks like it's been injured," the lieutenant said, "See, one of its arms—"
"Draw your weapon, Lieutenant!"
The lieutenant drew his .45. The genie stood in the shadow of the ship, its luminous eyes glowing
palely. A morning wind crept down from the hills and riffled the meadow grass. The sun shone brightly.
Presently the genie moved out of the shadow. It started forward, in the direction of the two officers.
It was a livid green in color and it definitely had too many limbs, most of them legs. It was impossible to
tell whether the creature was running or walking.
The captain's voice was tight. "Give the order to fire, Lieutenant!"
"But sir, I’m sure it's harmless."
"You blind? It's attacking us!"
The sheriff's rasping voice had thickened. "Sure it's attacking us,” he said, his breath hot on the
lieutenant's neck.
 The lieutenant said nothing. The rest of the memory was emerging from his subconscious where it had
been hiding for fifteen years.