The Mamur Zapt and the Men Behind. Michael Pearce
Чтение книги онлайн.
Читать онлайн книгу The Mamur Zapt and the Men Behind - Michael Pearce страница 16
Название: The Mamur Zapt and the Men Behind
Автор: Michael Pearce
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Приключения: прочее
isbn: 9780007483037
isbn:
‘Deesa.’
Owen took note of the name and then went over to help the rubble-workers. They were pulling at a huge beam. He got men to hold the beam while he organized others to pull away the stones which were trapping it. It came clear and they lifted it away.
A large fair-haired man came into the square with a small troop of constables.
‘Good heavens!’ the man said.
‘Hello,’ said Owen. ‘It was a café with students. There may be some under here.’
‘Right,’ said the man, and began organizing his constables. They formed a chain and began passing debris along it. The constables were simple peasants from the villages and used to this sort of work. One of them, incongruously, began to sing.
After a while Owen left the rubble work. McPhee, a Boy-Scoutish sort of man, was better at this kind of thing than he was. The work of clearing the debris was now proceeding systematically. The sharp-faced, intelligent workman who had got started in the first place was now burrowing deep into the rubble.
The square was filling up with people, eager to help but getting in the way. Owen pulled a constable out and sent him for more help. He tried to get the crowd to keep back. Then, seeing that was useless, he borrowed McPhee’s idea and formed them into chains, getting them to clear away the subsidiary pile, which was threatening to topple back on to the rubble.
So far he had seen very few injured people.
The student he had been talking to had finished his bandaging and came over to stand beside Owen.
‘Are you sure it was empty?’ Owen asked.
‘Not empty,’ said the student. ‘Emptyish.’
He interrupted the large man with the white, dusty face as he went past for the umpteenth time.
‘Ali,’ he said. ‘Come here.’
Ali stopped obediently. The student took hold of his head and stared into his eyes. Then he released him.
‘Concussed,’ he said.
‘You’re not a law student,’ said Owen.
‘No, medical. I was visiting friends.’
‘Why,’ said Ali, in a tone of surprise, ‘it’s Deesa.’
‘Yes,’ said the student, ‘it’s Deesa. What happened, Ali?’
‘I don’t know,’ said the man. ‘I came to the door to take some air and then suddenly it was as if a giant put his hand to my back and pushed me. I fell into the street and lay there and when I looked up the building had gone. Where did it go to, Deesa?’
‘It fell down, Ali,’ said Deesa. ‘That is all that is left.’ He pointed to the rubble.
The big man shook his head disbelievingly.
‘When I looked up, it had gone,’ he repeated. ‘Where did it go to, Deesa?’
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.