"Деннис Уитли. The Devil Rides Out (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

Then she shrugged lightly and, with a brief inclination of the head
which dismissed them both, turned coldly away.
The Duke took Simon's arm affectionately, as the three friends
left the salon. 'I wonder,' he said persuasively, 'if you could
spare me just two minutes before we go-no more I promise you.'
'Rather, of course.' Simon seemed now to have regained his old
joviality. 'I'll never forgive myself for missing your dinner
tonight-this wretched meeting-and I've seen nothing of you for
weeks. Now Rex is over we must throw a party together.'
'We will, we will,' De Richleau agreed heartily, 'but listen; is
not Mars in conjunction with Venus tonight?'
'Ner,' Simon replied promptly. 'With Saturn, that's what they've
all come to see.'
'Ah, Saturn! My Astronomy is so rusty, but I saw some mention of
it in the paper yesterday, and at one time I was a keen student of
the Stars. Would it be asking too much my dear fellow, to have just
one peep at it through your telescope? We should hardly delay your
meeting for five minutes.'
Simon's hesitation was barely perceptible before he nodded his
bird-like head with vigorous assent. 'Um, that's all right- they
haven't all arrived yet-let's go up.' Then, with his hands thrust
deep in the trouser pockets of his exceedingly well-cut dress suit,
he led them hurriedly through the hall and up three flights of
stairs.'
De Richleau followed more slowly. Stairs were the one thing which
ruffled his otherwise equable temper and he had no desire to lose it
now. By the time he arrived in the lofty chamber, with Rex behind
him, Simon had all the lights switched on.
'Well you've certainly gone in for it properly,' Rex remarked as
he surveyed the powerful telescope slanting to the roof and a whole
arsenal of sextants, spheres and other astrological impedimenta
ranged about the room.
'It's rather an exact science you see,' Simon volunteered.
'Quite,' agreed the Duke briefly. 'But I wonder, a little, that
you should consider charts of the Macrocosm necessary to your
studies.
'Oh, those!' Simon shrugged his narrow shoulders as he glanced
around the walls. 'They're only for fun-relics of the Alchemistic
nonsense in the Middle Ages, but quite suitable for decoration.'
'How clever of you to carry out your scheme of decoration on the
floor as well.' The Duke was thoughtfully regarding a five-pointed
star enclosed within two circles between which numerous mystic
characters in Greek and Hebrew had been carefully drawn.
'Yes, good idea, wasn't it?' Simon tittered into his hand. It was
the familiar gesture which both his friends knew so well, yet
somehow his chuckle had not quite its usual ring.
The silence that followed was a little awkward and in it, all
three plainly heard a muffled scratching noise that seemed to come
from a large wicker basket placed against the wall.
'You've got mice here, Simon,' said Rex casually, but De Richleau