a surface half black, opaque, half brilliant,
as if silver. The strange roundabouts, planked footway hanging in flashed
air, railway lines.
At the next moment стратоплан it was leveled, the platform failed.
Finger extended a neck to look down.
– You admire an amusement park? – Vinkler with a smile asked.
The second small list, and Hans saw one-storey pine houses, for
them – two-storeyed long standard barracks, further away – tents.
Crossing all city, there was an embankment, hollow rising in the direction
break. On the very brink of the city factory cases and pipes were seen, from
who were brought down by Narrow-gage railway smoke diversely cut the city.
Trucks scurried about. The embankment blackened the people who were pottering about as if ants.
Along an embankment long trunks of excavators turned.
“Really here the amusement park is arranged?” – Finger, but not wanted to ask
was in time. Stratoplan sharply came in the land, sat down on the earth, jumped up,
swept and unexpectedly abruptly stopped.
– Arrived, – Hans told.
Travelers quickly put on in fur coats and caps.
The hermetic door of a stratoplan opened. Pakhnulo frosty air K
the stratoplan suited the bystry tripping gait the tolstenky person in
to fur-coat. It was the commercial director Collins.
– You arrived for ten minutes earlier, – he told, greeting. – I
heard an infernal crash of your stratoplan and hurried here. You are wounded, the sir?
You have on a forehead blood.
– Trifles, – Blotton answered. – Medical assistance is not required Idle time
bruise about a door. And here if you feed me with a good beefsteak, I will be
to you he is very grateful. It is hungry so as if did not eat days, and meanwhile
before flying away I have densely breakfast.
– Not without reason the theory of relativity claims that it than quicker moves
the body, the more slowly for it proceeds time, – with a smile told
Collins.
– I think, now sir Henry Blotton will prefer a hot grog and
beefsteak of the theory of relativity, – Vinkler noticed.
– How is Mr. Zander? – Blotton asked.
– It was caused on a meeting has to return to lady Hinton On soon, —
Collins Blotton and Collins answered send forward. Vinkler and Finger – on
some distance from them.
– I will show you our dwelling, – Vinkler told. – I think, you
it will be most convenient to be located in the room near me.
– Certainly, – Finger answered.
They went down the street Stormer-city, supporting each other. In the city still
did not manage to take care of improvement. Sidewalks were not, packed
snow became covered by an ice crust, and people quite often fell.
It was the city which all life was adapted for
implementation of one grandiose idea.
Cold mountain air was filled with a rumble, noise, shouts, beeps.
Deafly excavators roared, small electric locomotives had sharply something in common,
busy scurrying about on a narrow-gage railway, squealed on trolley curves
On the ground shadows from cars of the suspended road crept. From time to time
booming blows shook air – tore rocks. Monophonically sang sawmills.
Smelled of sulfur, the petrol reek of alcohol. Somewhere pneumatic cracked
punchers the guttural multilingual speech of workers was heard Everywhere. They
scurried about on streets in all directions, transferring on weight shoulders,
filled the city with din and the movement. On this mountain platform as if
centuries and the people met. The electric and steam shovels made on
to state-of-the-art technology, and the biped “pack animals” moving
weights, as at the time of the Egyptian Pharaohs.
“Muscular force here, obviously, is cheaper and more favorable, than cars”, —
Finger thought, looking narrowly at workers.
Who was not only here! Both yellow-faced Chinese, and Blacks, and
chocolate Malayans, and bronze Hindus.
Also white faces met, most often it were foremen.
Despite the snow covering city streets, and cold, sharp mountain
wind, workers were dressed easily. At many through shirts appeared through
body.
– Real International! – Finger told.
– Yes, poverty International, – Vinkler answered. – All of them are bought for
pennies are also contracted by agents of society for several years. People
agreed to any conditions, if only to avoid starvation,
unemployment, and still met the worst of slavery here. From there are ways
retreats are cut off. Unapproachable snow mountains, snow snow-storms,
abysses, deserted, naked deserts protect this hungry люд better
any watchmen. The few from them are solved on escape and almost all pay for
it the life. Strikes here ruthlessly are suppressed, though
flash again.
Finger
