"Henry Lion Oldie. Fragments of novels in english translation" - читать интересную книгу автора

cannot penetrate the confusion of the tree branches, cannot see what is
hidden in the rustling mass both visбous and fluid.
He watched the eagle with his tired eyes as long as it could be seen
through the thick leaves. Then he prepared to continue his way. He had a
sack and a sword tied on his back. The sack was constantly sliding down.
He put it into place and fastened his belt bringing the hilt of his sword
nearer his right shoulder. Then he turned his head, raised his arms to
make sure that nothing hindered, nothing rattled. And then he resumed his
way. A flat-nosed head showed itself out of the grass beneath his feet.
The head on a lithe neck (as thick as an adult man's leg) rose high over
the grass and moved slowly from side to side feeling the air with a
forked tongue. Then it stood still watching intently the verdure of young
bamboo.
-- Lie still, Zou,-- said the man although he knew well that the
snake was almost not able to hear him.-- Don't bother. The time for you
to hunt didn't come yet. Calm yourself...
He put his hand on the snake's neck and stroked slightly the scales.
But the snake didn't want to calm itself. It slided away. The thick gold-
and-brown coils of its body unfurled dividing the grass and the warning
hiss filled the balmy air of a hot summer day.
The man stood motionless as a statue and waited.
A small spotted figure appeared among the knotty trees and soon a
doe ran to the quiet glade. The animal raised its graceful head with
trembling nostrils. Zou gathered his body into a resilent knot preparing
for a terrible rush.
But the doe strained itself and disappeared in no time among the
jessamin bushes.
The man laughed gently.
-- Night is your time,-- he said to the snake that was hissing
disappointedly.-- You'll be hunting at night. D'you understand it, Zou?
At daytime we have other things to do. Let's go now!
He smiled again: "to go" was not the word to use when you're
speaking to the boa-hunter Zou, the best one among the "lithe spears",
seven steps long -- surely seven full steps and even a little more...
When they crossed the glade the man turned his head and glanced at
the bushes where the frightened doe took refuge. The bushes were still
shaking. A shadow of anxiety passed over the man's face.
-- No,-- he said to himself,-- it can hardly be so. The animal was
not of the sort... Just a silly animal. And a weak one. This place here
is too wild...
A tiny instrument hanged on his belt. It was not bigger than his
palm, something like a toy-harp with unproportionally thick strings. He
touched it with his fingers, and a low vibrating sound swam over the
ground. A strap of waving grass marking the path of the snake began to
shift to the right. Zou understood his master's command without mistakes.
...A few hours later the sun, wounded by the tree branches, spilled
its blood over the ice-clad summits of the mountains and went to rest.
But the man and the snake have already reached the place where they
intended to stay for night. As soon as the boa saw a brook that divided
an oval glen like a steel blade, it crossed the clayey slope and swam