[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
we go in on double red. I'll take the front door and you slide around the
back."
"Fine."
"Watch yourself."
Mildred gave her the thumbs-up, drawing her revolver from its holster.
Krysty watched her friend walking slowly around the side of the property,
giving her a few seconds before making her own move toward the front door.
While she waited, she concentrated for a moment, drawing on the power of the
Earth Mother, trying to see if there was anyone close by. She picked up the
vibrations from Mildred but nobody else that she could detect.
The 5-shot .38 Smith amp; Wesson was gripped firmly in her right hand as she
walked toward the front door of the house.
The setting sun glinted off the solar panels in the roof, blazing like fire.
She paused and looked behind her, seeing what a fantastic view the house had
across the Rockies.
Two steps nearer and Krysty jumped as a sec light came on, flooding the drive
with its brilliance. She froze like a rabbit trapped in headlights, waiting
for a hail of bullets to tear her apart. But nothing happened.
As she reached the door, the light clicked off.
The brass handle was cold, streaked with ancient verdigris that felt slightly
sticky to the touch. It turned and the door swung silently open, showing her a
hallway with two rooms opening off it and a staircase to her left.
Krysty held her breath for a moment before slowly letting it go. The place was
fully furnished and it appeared that nobody had been there for the best part
of a hundred years. She reached out her hand and pressed a wall switch and the
interior lights tripped on, dazzlingly bright.
"That you, Krysty?"
"Yeah. Come ahead, Millie. I don't think we've got any company here."
"Back door's open. Kitchen through there's neat as a new pin. Everything
stacked away on shelves, pots and pans all ranged in order, like someone just
walked out."
"Rest of the house looks like it's just as trim. Let's take a look around."
"You don't feel anyone here?" Mildred asked nervously, rubbing her left hand
across her forehead.
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ands%2030%20-%20Crossways%20(v1.0)%20[html].html
"No. Whoever lived here's long, long gone."
But for once Krysty's intuition had let her down.
RYAN'S IMMEDIATE REACTION to the accusation from Chris Akemoto had been to
totally and blankly deny it. But there was such unquestioned confidence in the
young man's voice that he guessed there was little point.
And it could easily have made a very difficult situation much, much worse.
To be spotted as the right-hand man of the notorious Trader might, literally,
prove fatal. The old man's ideal for an enemy was for him to be dead. But over
the years enough people had escaped, brimming with hatred for Trader and his
men, to make it a potential hazard.
Ryan knew how distinctive he looked, even though Deathlands was filled with
men with an eye missingor a hand or a leg or an arm or an ear.
But Akemoto didn't seem the sort of person who could be bluffed.
It was time to bite hard on the bullet and be ready to move fast and kill
quietly.
"I rode with the Trader for years," he said. "Sorry, but I don't recall having
crossed trails with you."
Out of the corner of his eye, Ryan noticed that Dean was deep in eager
conversation with the boys on either side of him, looking as though he'd known
them all his life.
"More of the treacle pudding, Mr. Cawdor?" Natalie Davenport asked from the
other side.
"No. No, thanks."
Once she'd turned away, Chris Akemoto continued. "Remember me? Why should you,
Mr. Cawdor? I
was a child of eleven years old when my parents were butchered and Trader came
into my life."
"Your parents were chilled by Trader? Or by his people from the war wags?"
Akemoto shook his head. "No. No, you misunderstand me. I'm obviously not
making myself plain."
"I thought that's what you meant."
"No."
"Where was all this? Gives me a decent clue to hang a memory onto."
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...2030%20-%20Crossways%20(v1.0)%20
[html].html (104 of 214) [12/28/2004 1:00:14 AM]
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/Axler,%20James%20-%20Deathl
ands%2030%20-%20Crossways%20(v1.0)%20[html].html
"My mom and dad ran a small grocery store out near Memphis. Little ville
called Yesteryear. One of the postnuke villes. They had some hard times and
grief, being from Oriental stock, but all that passed. Me and my brothers and
sisters learned how to give back better than we got, and gradually things
became all right. Became good."
"This rings a small bell. Wasn't there some kind of rebirth of the Klan?"
Akemoto placed a hand on his arm and Ryan noticed that the young man was
trembling with emotion.
"That's it! You remember. It started in the east. Some said they came from old
Georgia. But they were intent on riding off anyone who wasn't a white Anglo.
They came to Yesteryear."
All around them, the meal was coming to an end. Spoons were laid on empty
plates and Nicholas Brody rose to his feet, clapping his hands for silence,
offering a quick prayer.
"There will be tea in the staff room, Mr. Cawdor, if you would care to join
Page 69
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us?" Natalie suggested.
Chris leaned across. "I promised to show Mr. Cawdor the grounds after supper.
Before full dark. But I'll bring him back in fifteen minutes or so."
IN THE EVENING COOL, alongside the limpid water of the lake, he carried on his
story.
"My parents wouldn't move and most of the good folks in the ville supported
them. Until the night ofof the burning. Trader had arrived, and your war wags
were camped by a creek a half mile west. He'd bought plenty of provisions from
our store."
It was seeping back to Ryan. A well-stocked general shop, run by a couple of
friendly Orientals. And lots of kids running around helping to fill the big
order for the wags.
"The Klan came that night," he said. "And they burned you out. I remember.
Your parents were shot and their bodies thrown in the flames. And you kids
escaped by"
"The storm cellar of the Reverend Mr. Dexter. True Christian. We heard Mom and
Dad's screams. I still hear them."
They walked on in silence, while Akemoto regained control.
"The leaders of the Klan made a big mistake. They thought Trader would be on
their side."
Ryan grinned. "Big error. Nothing Trader hated as much as hatred. The Imperial
Wizard, or whatever he was, rode up the next morning, bold as brass with a
dozen of his thugs. Asked for help in finding you kids. Said" He hesitated,
his brow furrowing as he struggled for the memory. " 'We got the mongrel and
his bitch. Might as well clean out the whole litter.' "
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...2030%20-%20Crossways%20(v1.0)%20
[html].html (105 of 214) [12/28/2004 1:00:14 AM]
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/Axler,%20James%20-%20Deathl
ands%2030%20-%20Crossways%20(v1.0)%20[html].html
"And Trader hanged him," Akemoto said. "Him and all his crew. From a line of
live oaks by the creek."
"I remember." Ryan saw in his mind's eye the row of kicking, strangling
corpses that gradually became still, heard the squeaking of the new hemp ropes
above the bubbling of the stream. "Yeah, I remember."
"Then Trader took a day off to rebuild the store for us and left a hatful of
jack to restock it. Place is running still, with my older brother and two
sisters there. Any time you're near Yesteryear" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl ocenkijessi.opx.pl
we go in on double red. I'll take the front door and you slide around the
back."
"Fine."
"Watch yourself."
Mildred gave her the thumbs-up, drawing her revolver from its holster.
Krysty watched her friend walking slowly around the side of the property,
giving her a few seconds before making her own move toward the front door.
While she waited, she concentrated for a moment, drawing on the power of the
Earth Mother, trying to see if there was anyone close by. She picked up the
vibrations from Mildred but nobody else that she could detect.
The 5-shot .38 Smith amp; Wesson was gripped firmly in her right hand as she
walked toward the front door of the house.
The setting sun glinted off the solar panels in the roof, blazing like fire.
She paused and looked behind her, seeing what a fantastic view the house had
across the Rockies.
Two steps nearer and Krysty jumped as a sec light came on, flooding the drive
with its brilliance. She froze like a rabbit trapped in headlights, waiting
for a hail of bullets to tear her apart. But nothing happened.
As she reached the door, the light clicked off.
The brass handle was cold, streaked with ancient verdigris that felt slightly
sticky to the touch. It turned and the door swung silently open, showing her a
hallway with two rooms opening off it and a staircase to her left.
Krysty held her breath for a moment before slowly letting it go. The place was
fully furnished and it appeared that nobody had been there for the best part
of a hundred years. She reached out her hand and pressed a wall switch and the
interior lights tripped on, dazzlingly bright.
"That you, Krysty?"
"Yeah. Come ahead, Millie. I don't think we've got any company here."
"Back door's open. Kitchen through there's neat as a new pin. Everything
stacked away on shelves, pots and pans all ranged in order, like someone just
walked out."
"Rest of the house looks like it's just as trim. Let's take a look around."
"You don't feel anyone here?" Mildred asked nervously, rubbing her left hand
across her forehead.
Page 68
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[html].html (103 of 214) [12/28/2004 1:00:14 AM]
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/Axler,%20James%20-%20Deathl
ands%2030%20-%20Crossways%20(v1.0)%20[html].html
"No. Whoever lived here's long, long gone."
But for once Krysty's intuition had let her down.
RYAN'S IMMEDIATE REACTION to the accusation from Chris Akemoto had been to
totally and blankly deny it. But there was such unquestioned confidence in the
young man's voice that he guessed there was little point.
And it could easily have made a very difficult situation much, much worse.
To be spotted as the right-hand man of the notorious Trader might, literally,
prove fatal. The old man's ideal for an enemy was for him to be dead. But over
the years enough people had escaped, brimming with hatred for Trader and his
men, to make it a potential hazard.
Ryan knew how distinctive he looked, even though Deathlands was filled with
men with an eye missingor a hand or a leg or an arm or an ear.
But Akemoto didn't seem the sort of person who could be bluffed.
It was time to bite hard on the bullet and be ready to move fast and kill
quietly.
"I rode with the Trader for years," he said. "Sorry, but I don't recall having
crossed trails with you."
Out of the corner of his eye, Ryan noticed that Dean was deep in eager
conversation with the boys on either side of him, looking as though he'd known
them all his life.
"More of the treacle pudding, Mr. Cawdor?" Natalie Davenport asked from the
other side.
"No. No, thanks."
Once she'd turned away, Chris Akemoto continued. "Remember me? Why should you,
Mr. Cawdor? I
was a child of eleven years old when my parents were butchered and Trader came
into my life."
"Your parents were chilled by Trader? Or by his people from the war wags?"
Akemoto shook his head. "No. No, you misunderstand me. I'm obviously not
making myself plain."
"I thought that's what you meant."
"No."
"Where was all this? Gives me a decent clue to hang a memory onto."
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...2030%20-%20Crossways%20(v1.0)%20
[html].html (104 of 214) [12/28/2004 1:00:14 AM]
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/Axler,%20James%20-%20Deathl
ands%2030%20-%20Crossways%20(v1.0)%20[html].html
"My mom and dad ran a small grocery store out near Memphis. Little ville
called Yesteryear. One of the postnuke villes. They had some hard times and
grief, being from Oriental stock, but all that passed. Me and my brothers and
sisters learned how to give back better than we got, and gradually things
became all right. Became good."
"This rings a small bell. Wasn't there some kind of rebirth of the Klan?"
Akemoto placed a hand on his arm and Ryan noticed that the young man was
trembling with emotion.
"That's it! You remember. It started in the east. Some said they came from old
Georgia. But they were intent on riding off anyone who wasn't a white Anglo.
They came to Yesteryear."
All around them, the meal was coming to an end. Spoons were laid on empty
plates and Nicholas Brody rose to his feet, clapping his hands for silence,
offering a quick prayer.
"There will be tea in the staff room, Mr. Cawdor, if you would care to join
Page 69
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
us?" Natalie suggested.
Chris leaned across. "I promised to show Mr. Cawdor the grounds after supper.
Before full dark. But I'll bring him back in fifteen minutes or so."
IN THE EVENING COOL, alongside the limpid water of the lake, he carried on his
story.
"My parents wouldn't move and most of the good folks in the ville supported
them. Until the night ofof the burning. Trader had arrived, and your war wags
were camped by a creek a half mile west. He'd bought plenty of provisions from
our store."
It was seeping back to Ryan. A well-stocked general shop, run by a couple of
friendly Orientals. And lots of kids running around helping to fill the big
order for the wags.
"The Klan came that night," he said. "And they burned you out. I remember.
Your parents were shot and their bodies thrown in the flames. And you kids
escaped by"
"The storm cellar of the Reverend Mr. Dexter. True Christian. We heard Mom and
Dad's screams. I still hear them."
They walked on in silence, while Akemoto regained control.
"The leaders of the Klan made a big mistake. They thought Trader would be on
their side."
Ryan grinned. "Big error. Nothing Trader hated as much as hatred. The Imperial
Wizard, or whatever he was, rode up the next morning, bold as brass with a
dozen of his thugs. Asked for help in finding you kids. Said" He hesitated,
his brow furrowing as he struggled for the memory. " 'We got the mongrel and
his bitch. Might as well clean out the whole litter.' "
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...2030%20-%20Crossways%20(v1.0)%20
[html].html (105 of 214) [12/28/2004 1:00:14 AM]
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/Axler,%20James%20-%20Deathl
ands%2030%20-%20Crossways%20(v1.0)%20[html].html
"And Trader hanged him," Akemoto said. "Him and all his crew. From a line of
live oaks by the creek."
"I remember." Ryan saw in his mind's eye the row of kicking, strangling
corpses that gradually became still, heard the squeaking of the new hemp ropes
above the bubbling of the stream. "Yeah, I remember."
"Then Trader took a day off to rebuild the store for us and left a hatful of
jack to restock it. Place is running still, with my older brother and two
sisters there. Any time you're near Yesteryear" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]