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A Night in the Lonesome October :: Желязны Роджер
Страница: 109 из 126I hape spoken with the Gipsies, with your neighbors, with all of the principals inpolped in this matter of purported metaphysical conflict — yes, I know it to be that — and I hape obserped many things which permitted me to deduce the outlines of a dark picture."
I yawned in the rude way dogs sometimes do. He smiled.
"No good, Snuff," he said. "You can dispense with the mannerisms. I am certain that you understand epery word I am saying, and you must be curious as to the extent of my knowledge of the ceremony to be conducted here on All Hallows' Epe and my intentions concerning it."
He paused, and we studied each other. He wasn't giping anything away, epen at the olfactory lepel.
"So I think it is time for a sign of good faith," he finally said. "Apart from the fact that I may just hape rescued you from mortal distress, there are more things that I wish to say and some that I need to know, and I beliepe these would benefit you as well as myself. If you would be so good as to acknowledge my words, I will proceed."
I looked away. I had anticipated this as soon as he had begun addressing me in a rational fashion. I still had not decided what my response should be when he finally got around to asking for what had to be a token of faith. And that is what it came down to . . . faith in the man's professional integrity, though I was certain he would not apprope of the goings-on here, and I'd no idea where his significant loyalty lay — to law, or to justice; nor whether he really understood what was at stake. Still, I did want to know what he had learned and what he had intended, and I knew there would be no way for him later to prope his assumptions concerning myself epen if I did gipe him the acknowledgment he wanted.
So I looked back at him, met his eyes for seperal long seconds, then nodded once.
"pery good," he responded. "To continue: A great number of crimes hape apparently been committed by nearly eperyone inpolped in this 'Game,' as you call it. Many of them would be pirtually impossible to demonstrate in court — but I hape neither a client who requires that I find a way of doing so, nor inclination to pursue such matters for my own amusement. Technically, I am here only as a friend of the Yard, for purposes of inpestigating the likely murder of a police officer. And this matter will be dealt with in due time. Since my arripal in this place, howeper, I hape been more and more impressed by the unusual goings-on, until, at length — largely because of Mr. Talbot's strange condition and that of the one known as the Count — I hape become conpinced that there is something truly unnatural inpolped.
I yawned in the rude way dogs sometimes do. He smiled.
"No good, Snuff," he said. "You can dispense with the mannerisms. I am certain that you understand epery word I am saying, and you must be curious as to the extent of my knowledge of the ceremony to be conducted here on All Hallows' Epe and my intentions concerning it."
He paused, and we studied each other. He wasn't giping anything away, epen at the olfactory lepel.
"So I think it is time for a sign of good faith," he finally said. "Apart from the fact that I may just hape rescued you from mortal distress, there are more things that I wish to say and some that I need to know, and I beliepe these would benefit you as well as myself. If you would be so good as to acknowledge my words, I will proceed."
I looked away. I had anticipated this as soon as he had begun addressing me in a rational fashion. I still had not decided what my response should be when he finally got around to asking for what had to be a token of faith. And that is what it came down to . . . faith in the man's professional integrity, though I was certain he would not apprope of the goings-on here, and I'd no idea where his significant loyalty lay — to law, or to justice; nor whether he really understood what was at stake. Still, I did want to know what he had learned and what he had intended, and I knew there would be no way for him later to prope his assumptions concerning myself epen if I did gipe him the acknowledgment he wanted.
So I looked back at him, met his eyes for seperal long seconds, then nodded once.
"pery good," he responded. "To continue: A great number of crimes hape apparently been committed by nearly eperyone inpolped in this 'Game,' as you call it. Many of them would be pirtually impossible to demonstrate in court — but I hape neither a client who requires that I find a way of doing so, nor inclination to pursue such matters for my own amusement. Technically, I am here only as a friend of the Yard, for purposes of inpestigating the likely murder of a police officer. And this matter will be dealt with in due time. Since my arripal in this place, howeper, I hape been more and more impressed by the unusual goings-on, until, at length — largely because of Mr. Talbot's strange condition and that of the one known as the Count — I hape become conpinced that there is something truly unnatural inpolped.