Philip K. Dick Super Pack. Philip K. Dick

Philip K. Dick Super Pack - Philip K. Dick


Скачать книгу
wandering by himself in the cold, looking for a place to speak? Was he meditating over his words, choosing his sentences?

      What if he could see what Conger had held!

      He pushed the door open, the gun raised.

      Lora!

      He stared at her. She was dressed in a wool jacket and boots, her hands in her pockets. A cloud of steam came from her mouth and nostrils. Her breast was rising and falling.

      Silently, they looked at each other. At last Conger lowered the gun.

      “What is it?” he said. “What are you doing here?”

      She pointed. She did not seem able to speak. He frowned; what was wrong with her?

      “What is it?” he said. “What do you want?” He looked in the direction she had pointed. “I don’t see anything.”

      “They’re coming.”

      “They? Who? Who are coming?”

      “They are. The police. During the night the Sheriff had the state police send cars. All around, everywhere. Blocking the roads. There’s about sixty of them coming. Some from town, some around behind.” She stopped, gasping. “They said—they said—”

      “What?”

      “They said you were some kind of a Communist. They said—”

      Conger went into the cage. He put the gun down on the shelf and came back out. He leaped down and went to the girl.

      “Thanks. You came here to tell me? You don’t believe it?”

      “I don’t know.”

      “Did you come alone?”

      “No. Joe brought me in his truck. From town.”

      “Joe? Who’s he?”

      “Joe French. The plumber. He’s a friend of Dad’s.”

      “Let’s go.” They crossed the snow, up the ridge and onto the field. The little panel truck was parked half way across the field. A heavy short man was sitting behind the wheel, smoking his pipe. He sat up as he saw the two of them coming toward him.

      “Are you the one?” he said to Conger.

      “Yes. Thanks for warning me.”

      The plumber shrugged. “I don’t know anything about this. Lora says you’re all right.” He turned around. “It might interest you to know some more of them are coming. Not to warn you—just curious.”

      “More of them?” Conger looked toward the town. Black shapes were picking their way across the snow.

      “People from the town. You can’t keep this sort of thing quiet, not in a small town. We all listen to the police radio; they heard the same way Lora did. Someone tuned in, spread it around—”

      The shapes were getting closer. Conger could, make out a couple of them. Bill Willet was there, with some boys from the high school. The Appletons were along, hanging back in the rear.

      “Even Ed Davies,” Conger murmured.

      The storekeeper was toiling onto the field, with three or four other men from the town.

      “All curious as hell,” French said. “Well, I guess I’m going back to town. I don’t want my truck shot full of holes. Come on, Lora.”

      She was looking up at Conger, wide-eyed.

      “Come on,” French said again. “Let’s go. You sure as hell can’t stay here, you know.”

      “Why?”

      “There may be shooting. That’s what they all came to see. You know that don’t you, Conger?”

      “Yes.”

      “You have a gun? Or don’t you care?” French smiled a little. “They’ve picked up a lot of people in their time, you know. You won’t be lonely.”

      He cared, all right! He had to stay here, on the field. He couldn’t afford to let them take him away. Any minute the Founder would appear, would step onto the field. Would he be one of the townsmen, standing silently at the foot of the field, waiting, watching?

      Or maybe he was Joe French. Or maybe one of the cops. Anyone of them might find himself moved to speak. And the few words spoken this day were going to be important for a long time.

      And Conger had to be there, ready when the first word was uttered!

      “I care,” he said. “You go on back to town. Take the girl with you.”

      Lora got stiffly in beside Joe French. The plumber started up the motor. “Look at them, standing there,” he said. “Like vultures. Waiting to see someone get killed.”

      The truck drove away, Lora sitting stiff and silent, frightened now. Conger watched for a moment. Then he dashed back into the woods, between the trees, toward the ridge.

      He could get away, of course. Anytime he wanted to he could get away. All he had to do was to leap into the crystal cage and turn the handles. But he had a job, an important job. He had to be here, here at this place, at this time.

      He reached the cage and opened the door. He went inside and picked up the gun from the shelf. The Slem-gun would take care of them. He notched it up to full count. The chain reaction from it would flatten them all, the police, the curious, sadistic people—

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEBLAEsAAD/4RlKRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAbAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAjYdp AAQAAAABAAAApAAAANAAAAEsAAAAAQAAASwAAAABQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTIFdpbmRvd3MA MjAxNTowMzoxNiAxMTo0ODowNQAAAAAAA6ABAAMAAAABAAEAAKACAAQAAAABAAADiaADAAQAAAAB AAAFEwAAAAAAAAAGAQMAAwAAAAEABgAAARoABQAAAAEAAAEeARsABQAAAAEAAAEmASgAAwAAAAEA AgAAAgEABAAAAAEAAAEuAgIABAAAAAEAABgUAAAAAAAAAEgAAAABAAAASAAAAAH/2P/gABBKRklG AAECAQBIAEgAAP/tAAxBZG9iZV9DTQAB/+4ADkFkb2JlAGSAAAAAAf/bAIQADAgICAkIDAkJDBEL CgsRFQ8MDA8VGBMTFRMTGBEMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAENCwsN Dg0QDg4QFA4ODhQUDg4ODhQRDAwMDAwREQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM DAwM/8AAEQgAoABvAwEiAAIRAQMRAf/dAAQAB//EAT8AAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAMAAQIEBQYH CAkKCwEAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAQACAwQFBgcICQoLEAABBAEDAgQCBQcGCAUDDDMBAAIRAwQh EjEFQVFhEyJxgTIGFJGhsUIjJBVSwWIzNHKC0UMHJZJT8OHxY3M1FqKygyZEk1RkRcKjdDYX0lXi ZfKzhMPTdePzRieUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9jdHV2d3h5ent8fX5/cRAAICAQIE BAMEBQYHBwYFNQEAAhEDITESBEFRYXEiEwUygZEUobFCI8FS0fAzJGLhcoKSQ1MVY3M08SUGFqKy gwcmNcLSRJNUoxdkRVU2dGXi8rOEw9N14/NGlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vYnN0dX Z3eHl6e3x//aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8AoRCRajbEonjkIJQ7e6k1jnBxDSQ0S4jsJ26/2lDNdbQKtkD1 H7HGJP0X2N2T7f8ABqvjdWILXNLps9ItIhpmzf6e/TammcQaPa2eHK5Z4/cgBIGXt8IPr4q4vlbr WE6wfj20/wB6KMYnQjXwOnCr43WTc9lbPUO8McPc36Jf6DXax9F9f+Yp2dYrFnpPZZuY6yNzmwDU W12ndr++1HjjV34Kjy2YkRECZEcdf1OL2+L/AB/QmdjEA6ERyCIiEH0LNrnbSWtjcQNBP0dyWV1T MqoqyKpY1zrGxYdxOxnqtc0sd9H2vr96l0/JvvrbfY7bJbt2yD/Ns+kZ93tdtSEgTXhf0RLBOMTM igJe2df8p+7X+CxFRdwEQYb9fadPpaHSPFAy+rZdeb6TX7atzGsAAJcbQ6fVLvzd1f5npqyPrFgW 1t2V3tsLGv3hzYIJfW36Z/f3t96ByRBIJqmSPJ5pRhKEeP3L4eA8UvR81xQmk6gfSHKsUjZGkjuq
Скачать книгу