Chapter 14 14. Alamo Canyon

[Alamo (Alamo): In Texas, USA, the famous "Battle of Alamo" took place in 1836. The character Lee' Scoresby in the novel is from Texas, and in this chapter he will fight the enemy to the death] Lee? Scoresby looked down, with the calm sea on the left and the green land on the right, he Cover your eyes with your hands and look for signs of people.It had been a day and a night since they left the Yenisei. "Is this the new world?" he asked. "It is a new world for those who were not born there," Stanislaus.Grumman said, "Otherwise it's as old as your and mine's world. What Asriel's doing is messing things up, Mr. Scoresby, more than ever. The ones I mentioned Passages, windows—now they open them in unexpected places. It's not easy sailing, but the wind is fair."

"Whether it's new or old, it's a strange world down there," Li said. "Yes," said Stanislaus Grumman, "it's a strange world, although some people are no doubt quite at home there." "There doesn't seem to be anyone there," Lee said. "Not so. Beyond that headland you will find a city once rich and prosperous, and still inhabited by the descendants of the merchants and nobles who built it, though it has entered a difficult era." The balloon continued, and after a few minutes Lee saw the first lighthouse, then the curve of the stone jetty, then the towers and domes and reddish-brown roofs.It's a beautiful port city with a magnificent building like an opera house set in a lush garden.There are broad avenues and elegant hotels, and narrow streets where flowering branches hang from awning balconies.

Grumman is right, there are people out there.But as the balloon floated closer, Lee was surprised to see that they were just children, he didn't see a single adult.What surprised him even more was that the kids didn't have elves—they were playing on the beach, or running in and out of diners, eating and drinking, or taking out packages of groceries from some house or store.There was also a gang of boys fighting, and a girl with red hair was cheering them on.Another boy threw rocks at a nearby building, breaking every window.The whole city is like a playground without a single teacher in sight. This is a children's world.

But they weren't the only ones in that city.Lee had to rub his eyes when he first saw them, but there was no doubt they were there, clouds of mist—or something thinner than mist—a thicker Air... whatever they are, the city is full of them, they float in the avenues, they float into the houses, they gather in the squares or in the courtyards.Children walk among them as if they cannot see them. But someone saw them.As they floated closer over the city, Lee could better observe the behavior of these things.There were clearly some children they were interested in, and they followed some of the younger ones: the older ones, the ones (so far as Lee could see through the binoculars) just about to reach puberty.

There was a tall, thin boy with tousled black hair, and those transparent things swarmed around him like flies on flesh, making his silhouette almost shimmer in the air.The boy didn't know what to do, though he rubbed his eyes now and then, or shook his head, as if trying to see better. "What the hell is that?" Lee asked. "People call them monsters." "Then what are they going to do?" "Have you ever heard of vampires?" "Oh, I've only heard of it in legends." "Ghosts are like vampires, except that vampires suck blood, and genies eat attention, which is a conscious, active curiosity in the world. They're less interested in the innocence of underage children."

"Then they are the opposite of the devils of Birvangar." "On the contrary. Both the priest council and the 'indifferent' yokai are deluded by the fact that about humans, innocence is so different from experience. The priest council fears and hates dust, while the yokai feed on dust, and both are inseparable from dust .” "They surrounded the boy down there." "He's growing up. Soon they'll hit him, and then his life will turn into a blank, blank tragedy, which he was meant to be." "My God! Can't we go and save him?" "No, the monsters will catch us right away. They can't reach us here. We can only watch them and continue to fly forward."

"But where are the grown-ups? Don't tell me there are only children left in the whole world." "Those are orphans born of monsters, and there are many groups of such orphans in this world. They wandered from place to place, living off what was left when the adults fled.As you can see, they can find a lot, so they don't go hungry.It seems that many monsters have invaded the city, and the adults have all fled to safety.Have you noticed that there are very few boats in the port?Children will not be in danger. " "Except for the older kids, like that poor kid down there."

"Mr. Scoresby, that's the rule of this world. If you want to end this cruelty and injustice, you have to fly forward with me. I have a mission to complete." "It seems to me—" began Lee, searching for words, "as if to me, where cruelty is found, is where it is fought, and where help is needed, is where help is given. Is this Wrong, Mr. Grumman? I'm just an ignorant hot air balloon pilot. I'm so fucking ignorant. Like, I believe shamans when they tell me they can fly. But here And there's a shaman who can't fly." "Oh, but I have."

"Then how do you prove that?" The balloon descended, the earth rose up, and a boxy stone tower appeared, standing beside the road they must pass through. Li didn't seem to notice. "I needed to fly," Grumman said, "so I summoned you, and here I am flying." He was fully aware of the danger they faced, but he refrained from suggesting to the pilot that he didn't know it yet.In the nick of time Lee Scoresby bent over the side of the gondola and yanked the tether of one of the sandbags, and the sand flowed out, and the balloon rose lightly, avoiding the stone tower, to within six feet of it .A dozen frightened crows flew up and circled them, screaming.

"I assume you are," Lee said. "You have a strange air about you, Dr. Grumman. Have you ever been with a witch?" "Yes," Grumman said. "Stayed with the scholars too, and the gods. I've found stupidity everywhere, but there's a lot of wisdom there too. No doubt there's more wisdom I've yet to realize. Life is hard, Scott Mr Slby, but we're going to hold on." "How's our trip? Wisdom or stupidity?" "The greatest wisdom I know." "Tell me about your purpose again. You are going to find the holder of the magic sword, what are you going to do next?"

"Tell him what his mission is." "Also, that mission also includes protecting Laila," the balloon pilot reminded him. "Will protect us all." They then flew forward, the city quickly disappearing behind them. Lee checked his instruments, the compass was still spinning aimlessly.But as far as he could judge, the altimeter was still working accurately, showing that they were flying a thousand feet above the coastline, flying along the coastline.A verdant mountain loomed somewhere in front of him, and Li was happy that he had prepared enough sandbags. But when he began his routine scan of the sky, his heart went "Gurdon," and Hurst felt it too, pricking up her ears and turning her head so that one hazel eye could see his face.He picked her up and stuffed her against his chest, then he picked up the binoculars again. Yes, he was not mistaken.Far to the south (if that was south, that was the direction they had come from) loomed another balloon floating.He couldn't see much better because of the heat and the distance, but the balloon was bigger and higher than his. Grumman saw it too. "The enemy, Mr. Scoresby?" he asked, shading his eyes with his hands and looking out in the pearly light. "Obviously, I don't know if I should drop the sandbags and fly higher to catch the faster winds, or lower to be less conspicuous. Luckily it wasn't a Zeppelin, otherwise it could have caught up to us in a few hours. No, fuck it, Dr. Grumman, I'm going to fly higher, because if I was on top of that balloon, I would have seen this balloon, and I'm sure they all have good eyesight." He lowered Hurst, bent outward, and removed three more sandbags, and the balloon rose immediately, and Lee kept watching through the binoculars. After a minute he was sure they had been spotted, for there was a faint movement in the balloon, a puff of smoke rose from the balloon, rose into the sky, and then there was a flash of fire, first crimson, then a moment later Puffs of gray smoke, but at night the signal was as clear and definite as an alarm. "Can you summon a stronger wind, Dr. Grumman?" Lee asked. "I want to fly to the other side of the mountain at night." They had now left the coast, and according to their course they were flying over a bay thirty or forty miles wide, with a range of mountains in the distance.Now that he was flying higher, he thought it would be more accurate to call them mountains. He turned to Grumman and found him lost in thought.The shaman closed his eyes, his body was shaking slightly back and forth, large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and a low and rhythmic hum came from his throat. His elf grabbed the edge of the hanging basket, and Preoccupied. Whether it was the rising of the balloon or the shaman's spell, there was indeed a gust of wind blowing in Lee's face. He looked up at the balloon, and he found that the balloon was at an angle, towards the mountains over there. But the breeze made them fly faster, but it also had an effect on the other balloon.It didn't get any closer, but it wasn't left behind either.Li picked up the telescope again, and he saw some smaller and darker shapes faintly appearing in the distance behind the balloon. They formed in an orderly manner and became clearly visible every minute. "Led Zeppelin," he said, "well, there's nowhere to hide now." He tried to estimate how far away the enemy was, and the distance between themselves and the mountains they were flying towards.Their speed undoubtedly accelerated, and the breeze lifted the white waves on the sea. Grumman sat resting in the corner of the gondola, his daemon combing its feathers.His eyes were closed, but Lee knew he was awake. "The thing is, Dr. Grumman," he said, "I don't want to be caught in the air by a zeppelin, we can't resist, they'll shoot us down in no time. I don't want to land on the sea, either voluntarily Still forced, we can float a little longer, but they can kill us with a grenade any time, as easy as fishing. "So I wanted to fly up the hills and land, and I can see some woods now, and we can hide in the woods for a while, maybe for a longer period of time. "The sun was about to set, and by my calculations, we had about three hours before the sun set. It's hard to tell, but I think the Zeppelins will be half way from catching us by then, and we should be on the other side of the bay by then. "Now, you see what I mean. I want to fly to the mountains and land, because there is no other way but death. Now they have taken the ring I showed them and the one I killed in New Earth. The Suk Aelin linked up, and it wasn't as if they were chasing us so tirelessly to tell us that the purse had been left on the counter. "So, Dr. Grumman, the flight will end sometime this evening. Have you ever landed in a hot air balloon?" "No," said the shaman, "but I trust your skills." "I try to fly as high up in the mountains as possible, it's a trade-off because the farther we fly, the closer they are to us. If they're close when we land, they'll see where we've gone, But I can't hide in the woods if I land too early. Anyway, it won't be long before there's going to be a shootout." Grumman sat impassive, alternately holding a magic feather in each hand, which seemed to Lee to have a clear purpose.His daemon, the eagle's eye, never left those zeppelins. An hour passed, and another hour passed, as Lee chewed an unlit cigar and drank cold coffee from a tin kettle.The sun was lower in the sky behind them, and Lee could see the long shadows of night creeping up the shore and up the mountainside, bathing the balloon and the entire mountaintop in a golden light. Behind them, the tiny dots dimmed in the sunset light grew larger and more distinct, and they had outgrown the other balloon and were now easily visible to the naked eye: four airships side by side flying.From the silent bay came the sound of an engine, quiet but clear, a constant mosquito-like hum. They were still a few minutes away from reaching the shore at the foot of the mountain, when Li noticed a new situation in the sky behind the Zeppelin. Dark clouds piled up, and a thunderclap resounded through the sky, but the sky above the clouds was still clear.Why didn't he find out just now?If a storm is coming, the sooner they land, the better. At this time, a dark green rain curtain hung down from the clouds, and the storm seemed to be chasing the Zeppelin, just like those airships were chasing Lee's balloon.The rain came rushing down on them from the sea, and when the sun finally disappeared, a huge bolt of lightning shot straight down from the clouds, and a few seconds later there was such a deafening thunder that the fibers of Lee's balloon were shaken.The thunder echoed in the mountains, and it lasted for a long time. Then came another bolt of lightning, a forked lightning that struck a Zeppelin in one fell swoop, and the gasoline was set ablaze. A blinding fire appeared under the dark clouds, and the airship floated slowly down, shining like a beacon, until it floated on the water, still burning. Li finally breathed out after holding back his breath for a long time.Grumman stood beside him, one hand clutching the ring, his face lined with weariness. "Did you call this storm?" Lee asked. Grumman nodded. The mottled sky showed a tiger-skin pattern, streaks of golden light mixed with dark black clouds, and the pattern was changing every minute.As the dark clouds expanded, the golden light was gradually swallowed up, and the sea behind was black with phosphorescent foam, and the burning Zeppelin sank, the last flames extinguished. The remaining three continued to fly, battling the storm and maintaining their course.More lightning surrounded them, and as the storm drew nearer, Lee began to worry about the fuel in his balloon.All it took was a thunderbolt to send it falling to the ground in a conflagration, and he didn't believe the shamans could control the storm well enough to dodge it themselves. "Okay, Dr. Grumman," he said, "I'm going to ignore these zeppelins now, and I'm going to concentrate and get ready to land on the hills. All I want you to do is sit tight, hold on tight, I'm telling you When the time comes, get ready to jump. I will let you know in advance that I try to be as gentle as possible, but landing in these conditions requires not only skill, but luck as well." "I trust you, Mr. Scoresby," said the shaman. He sat in the corner of the basket, his elf perched on the ring, claws sunk deep in the leather straps. The wind blew towards them more violently, the huge balloon was billowing in the strong wind, and the rope was tightened and creaked, but Li was not afraid and did not give in. He removed a few sandbags and kept close stared at the altimeter.In a storm, when the barometric pressure drops, you have to subtract the resulting drop from the altimeter, and that's usually a rule of thumb.Lee glanced at the numbers, did the math again, and removed the last sandbag.Now the only thing he can control is the air valve, he can't go up anymore, he can only go down. He stared intently at the storm, making out the black silhouette of the mountains against the black sky.There was a rumbling sound down there like waves crashing on a stony beach, but he knew it was the sound of a strong wind blowing through the trees.Already flew this far!They flew faster than he thought. He couldn't wait any longer, it was time to land.Li's overly calm character determines that he will not be angry with fate, and his way is to accept it concisely with raised eyebrows.But now he couldn't help showing a hint of frustration, because now he knew that what he had to do—fly in front of the storm and let the storm run its course—they had to jump. He curled Hester into a tight ball against his chest, buttoned his canvas coat, and wrapped her in it.Grumman sat calmly and quietly, his elf swaying in the strong wind, claws tightly grasping the gondola, feathers bristled by the wind. "I'm getting ready to descend, Dr. Grumman," Lee yelled into the wind. "You've got to get up and get ready to jump. Hold on to that ring and stand up when I call." Grumman did as he was told.Lee looked down and ahead alternately, inspecting in vague, fleeting glances.There was a gust of wind, and big raindrops hit them like sand, and he blinked to keep the rain from getting in.With the raindrops hitting the balloon, coupled with the whistling of the wind and the sound of the rain hitting the leaves, Li hardly heard the sound of thunder. "Get ready to jump!" he yelled. "You've summoned a fine storm, Mr. Shaman." He tugged on the rope that controlled the air valve, fixed the rope to the splint, and let the air valve open.The air flowed from the top of the balloon and rose to an invisible height. The folds of the lower part of the balloon contracted automatically, one layer, then another layer, and another layer, and it was a bulging semicircle a minute ago. The hanging basket was swaying and tilting violently. It was hard to see whether it would fall. The sudden gust of wind seemed to blow them to an unknown height, but after a minute, Li suddenly felt a blow from somewhere, and he knew it was A twig caught on the grapple.There was only a brief pause, so the branch was broken, but it showed how close they were to the woods. He called out, "Fifty feet above the woods—" The shaman nodded. At this time, there was another violent blow, and the two of them were thrown hard, hitting the edge of the hanging basket.Lee was used to it, and he quickly regained his balance, but Grumman was taken aback by the force.However, he did not let go of his hand holding the ring.Lee could see that he was maintaining a safe posture, ready to adjust his movements at any time. After a while, there was the greatest jolt, and the grapple took hold of a branch.Immediately the gondola tipped and struck the top of the tree, and came to a precarious stop amidst the flapping of wet leaves, the snapping of twigs, and the snapping of stressed branches. "Dr. Grumman, are you okay?" Lee called, unable to see anything. "Very well, Mr. Scoresby." "You'd better hold still until we get a better look around," Lee said.They were shaking violently in the wind, and he didn't know what was holding the gondola, but he could feel the gondola trembling slightly. There was a strong tug on one side of the balloon, now empty, which caused it to be blown up like a sail.The idea of ​​chopping it off crossed Lee's mind, but if it didn't float away it would hang like a banner in the treetops and give away their location.They better take it down if they can. Then there was another flash of lightning, and then thunder roared, and the storm was almost overhead, and in the light of the lightning Lee saw the trunk of an oak tree with a large white scar where a branch had broken off, but hadn't been completely destroyed. It was broken, and part of it was still connected, and the hanging basket stopped not far from the connection. "I'm going to throw a rope out and climb down," he shouted. "Once we have our feet on the ground, we can plan our next steps." "I'll follow you, Mr. Scoresby," said Grumman. "My elf tells me the ground is forty feet away." When the eagle elf stood on the edge of the hanging basket again, Li felt a powerful flapping of wings. "Can she fly that far?" he asked in surprise.But he soon gave up thinking about this problem, and tied the rope firmly. He first tied the rope to the ring, and then tied the rope to the branch, so that even if the hanging basket fell, it would not fall too far. . Then, safely tucked away in his chest, Hurst threw out the rest of the rope and scrambled down it until he felt solid ground beneath his feet.The trunk was thick with leaves. It was a big tree, a giant among the oaks. Lee murmured thanks, then tugged at the rope, signaling to Grumman that he could come down. Are there other noises in the chaos?He tried to listen.Yes, the engines of Zeppelins, maybe more than one, somewhere in the sky.Unable to tell how high it was, or which direction it was heading, the sound rang for a moment and then died away. Shamans also came to the surface. "Did you hear that?" Lee asked. "Yes, it went up again, into the mountains, I think. Congratulations on our safe landing, Mr. Scoresby." "It's not over yet, I want to get the balloon down the tree before daylight, or it'll give away our bearings from miles away. Can you do some physical work, Dr. Grumman?" "Tell me what to do." "Okay, I'm going to climb up the rope again. I'll put some things down for you. One of them is a tent. You can put up the tent. I'll see how I can hide that balloon." They worked for a long time, and once they encountered danger. The branch holding the hanging basket finally broke, and Li and the hanging basket were thrown down together. However, he fell not far away, and the balloon hanging on the treetop Grabbing the hanging basket, the hanging basket stopped. The fall actually made it easier to hide the balloon, because the lower half of the balloon had already been dragged under the tree, and with the help of lightning flashes, Lee dragged and tugged, and hid the whole balloon in the lower part of the branch. place. The wind was still shaking the treetops back and forth, and by the time he decided he couldn't do any more work, the worst of the storm was over.He climbed down to find that the shaman had not only pitched his tent, but had built a fire and was making coffee. "Is this all magic?" Lee asked, drenched and frozen.He crept carefully into the tent and took the cup that Grumman handed him. "No, you might as well thank the Boy Scouts," Grumman said. "Do you have Boy Scouts in your world?" take it with you. Sometimes it's worse than that when we're camping, Mr. Scoresby. " "Did you hear those Zeppelins again?" Grumman held up his hand, and Lee listened, and sure enough, there was the sound of an engine in the air, easier to make out now that the rain had subsided. "They've been flying overhead twice," Grumman said. "They don't know where we are, but they know we're somewhere here." After a while, there was a bright light from where the zeppelin flew, not as bright as lightning, but it lasted a long time, and Lee understood it all at once. "Better put out the fire, Dr. Grumman," he said. "I'm sorry, but I'd like to put out the fire. I think the woods are thick, but no one can tell. Whether you're wet or not , I'm going to bed." "Your clothes will be dry tomorrow morning," said the shaman. He grabbed a handful of damp soil and pressed it on the flames. Li tried to lie down in the small tent and closed his eyes. He had many strange dreams.For a moment he thought he saw the shaman sitting with his legs crossed in a flame that quickly consumed his flesh until only a white skeleton remained, still sitting in a heap of sparkling ashes.Horrified, Lee went to Hearst, only to find her asleep, which was never the case, because when he was awake, she was awake.So when he found her asleep, his terse sharp elf looked weak and vulnerable, he was moved by the strangeness, and he lay restlessly beside her, awake in a dream, yet Asleep indeed, he dreamed that he lay there awake, for a long time. Another dream was also about Grumman. Li seemed to see the shaman shaking a feather bell and ordering something to obey him. When Li saw it, he couldn't help but feel sick. It was a monster. Like the ones they had seen on the balloon, it was tall and almost transparent, and Lee felt a gut-wrenching convulsion, and he almost woke up in terror.But Grumman commanded it fearlessly, and it did no harm, for it came close to him, listened to his orders, and then floated up like soap bubbles and disappeared over the treetops. And now there was another twist to his exhausting night, and this time he was in the cockpit of a zeppelin, watching the pilot.In fact, he was in the co-pilot's seat as they patrolled the forest above, looking down at the violently shaking treetops, a sea of ​​turbulent foliage.Then the monster appeared in the cabin, with them. Li could neither move nor scream during the nightmare, and when the driver realized what was happening to him, Li also experienced his fear.The genie bent over the driver, as if pressing its face against his.His daemon, a sparrow, flapped and screamed as it tried to escape, only to land dazedly on the dashboard.The driver's face was turned toward Li, and he held out a hand, but Li couldn't move.The look of pain in the man's eyes was unbearable.Something real, alive had been ripped out of him, his daemon was flapping its wings feebly and shrieking, she was dying. Then she disappeared, but the pilot was still alive.His eyes became blindfolded and dimmed, and his outstretched hand sank, hitting the throttle with a slight click.He was alive, but he was no longer alive, he was indifferent to everything. Lee sat there, watching helplessly as the Zeppelin flew straight toward a cliff that towered in front of him.The pilot watched as the cliff crashed into the cabin window, but nothing caught his attention.Lee leaned back in his seat in horror, but nothing could stop it, and the instant it hit he yelled, "Hurst!" Then he woke up. He was in the tent, safe and sound, and Hearst was pecking his cheek.He was sweating all over.The shaman sat there with his legs crossed, and when Lee saw that his eagle spirit was not with him, a chill ran through Li's body. It was clear that this forest was not a good place, full of haunted ghosts. That's when he noticed the light that allowed him to see the shaman, for the fire was long gone and the forest was dark.A few lights not far away illuminated the trunks and the undersides of dripping leaves, and Lee knew immediately what was going on: his dream was real, and a zeppelin pilot had crashed into the hills. "Damn it, Lee, you're shaking like a poplar leaf. What's wrong with you?" Hurst muttered, shaking her long ears. "Are you dreaming too, Hester?" he murmured. "You're not dreaming, you saw it. If I didn't know you were watching, I would have corrected you. Now shut up, you hear me?" He stroked her head with his thumb and she shook her ear. Then, without any transition, he was already flying through the air with the shaman's osprey spirit, Saiyan Kot.Lee felt both a powerful sense of guilt and a strange joy in being away from his own spirit and being with someone else's.They glide along the updraft over the forest, and he seems to have turned into a bird too. Li looked around in the dark surroundings, a round moon occasionally cast faint moonlight from the gaps in the clouds, and the treetops were surrounded by silver halo. The hawk-spirit uttered a piercing cry, and from below came hundreds of birdsongs of all kinds: the hooting of owls, the alert screech of young sparrows, the melodious chirp of nightingales.Seyan Cotter called them and they answered, every bird in the forest came, whether they were gliding noiselessly, searching for prey, or perching, thousands of birds flapping in the tumultuous air The wings flew up. Lee felt a certain avian nature in himself joyfully responding to the Eagle Queen's commands, and in the rest of his human nature he felt some strangest pleasure: a gesture to a greater power. Sincere obedience is the right thing to do.He followed the huge flock of birds, hundreds of different birds circled under the attractive call of the eagle, moving in unison like a bird, they saw the hateful bird in the moving silver-white clouds. Black zeppelins haunted it. They all knew exactly what they had to do, and they swarmed toward the airship, the fastest approaching it first, but none faster than Seyon Kurt.The tiny wrens and sparrows, the light swifts, and the silent owls in flight—covered the airship in a minute, clawing and poking at the tarp or support. hold the body. They avoided the engine, but some of the birds fell in, chipped to pieces by the sharp propellers. Most of the birds just perched on the hull of the Zeppelin, and those that came after were on top of them until they not only covered the entire hull (the hydrogen gas of the airship came from the little holes poked by thousands of tiny feet leaked out), and covered cockpit windows, struts, and cables—every square inch had one, two, three, or more birds crawling on it. The driver is left alone.Due to the weight of the bird, the airship began to sink.At this time, another ruthless cliff emerged from the darkness. Of course, the people in the airship were unrecognizable, and they were holding guns and shooting wildly indiscriminately. At the last moment, Seyan Kurt let out a scream, and all the birds left the airship and flew away at once, the loud noise of their wings beating even drowned out the sound of the engine.The people in the cabin froze for four or five seconds in fear, and then the airship slammed into it, turning into a big fireball. Big fire, high temperature, flames... Li woke up again, his body was as hot as if he had been lying in the desert under the scorching sun just now. Outside the tent there was still the endless ticking of water on the leaves, but the storm had passed.The off-white light came in. Li sat up on his support and saw Hester blinking beside him. The shaman was wrapped in a blanket and slept soundly. If it is on the branch of the tree, he may really be dead. The only sound other than dripping water was the chirping of birds in the forest, no engine in the sky, no sound of enemies.Lee figured it might be safe to start a fire, so after some effort, he built a fire and started making coffee. "What now, Hurst?" he asked. "It depends. There are four Zeppelins in total, and he has destroyed three." "I mean, is our mission accomplished?" She shook her ears and said, "No contract, I don't know." "It's not about the contract, it's about morality." "Before you worry about morals, we've got another Zeppelin to think about. Thirty or forty men coming straight at us with guns, and royals at that. Survival first, morals second." Of course she was right.As the day grew brighter as he sipped his piping hot coffee and smoked his cigar, he wondered what he would do if he were to command the remaining airship.Doubtless retreat back and come back at full daylight, when it will be possible to fly high enough to search the edge of the forest from a wide area, so that when Lee and Grumman come out of hiding, He can find out. The osprey spirit Seyon Kurt awoke, spreading her huge wings where Lee sat.赫斯特抬起头，来回转动着脑袋，两只金色的眼睛轮流打量着这个非凡的精灵，过了一会儿，萨满巫师也来到帐篷外面。 “忙碌的一夜。”李评论道。 “即将到来的白天也会很繁忙。我们必须立刻离开这座森林，斯科尔斯比先生，他们要烧掉这座森林。” 李不相信地环顾着这片湿润的草木，问道：“怎么烧？” “他们有一种发动机，会喷出一种混合着碳酸钾的石脑油，它遇到水就会燃烧，皇家海军研制出它用来跟日本人打仗，如果森林是湿的，它着起火来就更快了。” “你能预见到，是吗？” “就像你晚上看到那些齐柏林飞艇发生的事那样清楚。带上你要拿的东西，现在就走。” 李摸了摸下巴。他最值钱的东西也是最容易带走的——那就是气球上的仪器——于是他把它们从吊篮上拆了下来，小心地装进背包，确保他的来复枪已装上弹药，并保持干燥。他扔下了吊篮、绳索和球囊，它们在树枝间歪歪扭扭地纠成一团。从现在开始他不再是一名热气球飞行员，除非奇迹出现，他能脱离危险并有足够的钱买一只新气球。现在他得像一只昆虫那样在地球表面爬行。 他们先闻到了烟味，然后才听到了着火的声音，因为海上的微风将它吹向了内陆。当他们来到森林的边缘时，他们听见了着火的声音，一种低沉而贪婪的隆隆声。 “昨天晚上他们为什么没这么干呢？”李问道，“他们可以在我们睡觉时把我们烤熟。” “我猜他们想要活捉我们。”格鲁曼答道，他扯掉一根树枝上的树叶，这样他可以拿那根树枝当作拐杖。“他们想等着看我们从什么地方离开这座森林。” 果然，在火焰声和他们自己粗重的呼吸声中，齐柏林飞艇的嗡嗡声也清晰可闻。他们匆匆忙忙地在树根、岩石和倒伏的树干上攀爬，停下来只是为了喘口气。 塞扬?科特在高处飞着，然后再盘旋着落下来告诉他们进展如何以及火焰落在他们后面多远。但没过多久，他们就看见身后的树梢上冒起了烟，然后就是连续不断的火焰。 森林里的动物——松鼠、小鸟、野猪——在和他们一起逃命，他们身边响起了各种各样的号叫声、尖叫声和警告声，各种声音交织在一起。两位旅行者挣扎着奔向不远处的森林边缘，他们到那里后，熊熊的火焰升上五十英尺的空中，滚滚的热浪袭向他们。树木像火把一样燃烧着，脉络中的汁液沸腾了，撕裂了树干，松针里的树脂像石脑油一样燃烧着，树枝好像在一瞬间绽放出桔黄色的花朵。 李和格鲁曼喘着气，强迫自己爬上陡峭的石坡，半边天空都被烟雾和热气遮住了，但在那之上，飘浮着最后一艘齐柏林飞艇矮胖的影子——李满怀希望地想，太遥远了，即使用双筒望远镜它也不可能发现我们。 山坡变得更加陡峭，前面已经无路可走了。要摆脱这个困境，只有一条路可走，那就是前面那条狭窄的小路，从绝壁间的折缝里伸出的干涸的河床。 李指向那里，格鲁曼说道：“我也这么想，斯科尔斯比先生。” 他的精灵在上空盘旋滑翔，她翅膀一斜，乘着上升的气流飞向峡谷。两个人没有停歇，继续努力快速攀登，李说：“如果问这个问题很冒昧的话，请你原谅。 除了女巫，我从没有听说人的精灵能那么做。你不是女巫，那你是学会的，还是天生就会？ " “对一个人来说，没有什么是与生俱来的，”格鲁曼说道，“我们做的每一件事都得去学。塞扬?科特告诉我们那道峡谷通向一条路。如果我们能在他们发现我们之前到达那儿，我们还能逃脱。” 那只鹰又飞落下来，两个人攀向更高的地方。赫斯特更喜欢在岩石上寻找她自己的路，于是李就跟着她，避开松动的石头，在大块的石头上尽可能快地行走，在峡谷中快速前进。 李在为格鲁曼担心，因为他脸色苍白，筋疲力尽，上气不接下气。夜间的劳动消耗了他大量的精力。他们还能走多远？这是一个李不愿面对的问题。他们快走到了峡谷的尽头，实际上他们已经来到干涸的河床，这时他们听到齐柏林飞艇的声音有了变化。 “他们发现我们了。”他说。 这就像被宣判了死刑。赫斯特被绊了一下，一贯稳重、坚强的赫斯特也脚步踉跄了。格鲁曼靠在他拄着的拐杖上，用手遮住眼睛，回过头去看，李也回头去看。 齐柏林飞艇在快速下降，直接冲向他们下面的山坡。很明显，追兵想生擒他们，而不是杀死他们，因为一通炮火在一秒钟内就可以结束他们俩的生命。飞行员技术熟练地让飞艇盘旋在地面上空离斜坡最安全的高度，从舱门鱼贯跳下一队穿蓝色制服的士兵，他们的狼精灵跟随在侧，他们开始攀登。 李和格鲁曼在离他们六百码的高处，离峡谷入口处不远。一旦他们到达入口处，只要他们的火力能够维持，他们就可以用火力拦住那些士兵。但他们只有一支来复枪。 “他们是来找我的，斯科尔斯比先生，”格鲁曼说道，“不是找你。如果你把来复枪交给我，你去投降，你就会活命。他们是一支有纪律的军队，你会成为一名战俘。” 李没有接茬，他说，“快走吧，往峡谷那边走，你从那头找到出去的路，我在这边的入口挡住他们。我已经把你带到这儿了，我不会任由那些人抓住你而坐视不管。” 下面的人动作很快，因为他们身强力壮，而且刚刚休整过。格鲁曼点了点头。 “我没有力量把第四艘也打下来。”他们走向峡谷隐蔽处时他只说了这一句。 “在你走之前，告诉我，”李说，“如果我不知道我不会安心。我还不知道在为哪一方战斗，我也不太在乎。但你就告诉我：我要做的事情对那个小女孩莱拉有益还是有害？” “对她有益。”格鲁曼说。 “还有你的誓言。你不会忘记对我发过的誓吧？” “我不会忘记的。” “因为，格鲁曼博士，或是约翰?佩里，或是你在任何一个世界起的任何一个名字，你要明白这一点：我像爱自己女儿一样爱那个小女孩，如果我有一个自己的孩子，我对她也不过如此。如果你背弃那个誓言，我死后的那把骨头会追着你的那把骨头不放的，你会在剩下的永恒里祈愿你从来没有存在过。那个誓言就这么重要。” “我明白，我向你保证。” “这就是所有我想知道的，一路保重。” 萨满巫师伸出手，李握了握。然后格鲁曼转过身向峡谷走去，李则打量着四周，寻找最好的站立点。 “别站在这块大石头上，李，”赫斯特说道，“从那儿你看不到右边，他们会偷袭的。站在那块小一点的石头上。” 李的耳中响起了一阵轰鸣，这和下面的森林大火无关，和那艘企图升高的齐柏林飞艇也无关，这和他的童年，还有阿拉莫教堂有关。他经常和同伴们一起扮演那场英勇的战役，在旧堡垒的废墟上，他们轮流扮演丹麦人和法国人！他的童年时代突如其来地回到了他身边。他拿出他母亲的那只纳瓦霍戒指，放在他身边的石头上。在古老的阿拉曼游戏中，赫斯特经常是一只美洲狮或是一匹狼，有一两次还是一条响尾蛇，更多的时候是一只嘲鸫鸟。此刻——“别做白日梦了，睁开眼看看，”她说，“这可不是做游戏，李。” 爬上斜坡的那些人已经呈扇形分散开，在更加缓慢地前进，因为他们和他一样认识到了问题所在。他们知道必须拿下这个峡谷，但他们也知道一个人用一支来复枪就可以抵挡他们很长一段时间。李感到惊讶的是，在他们的后面，齐柏林飞艇仍然在努力爬高。也许它是丧失了浮力，也许它燃料不多了，但不管是什么原因它仍然没有飞起来，李有了个主意。 他调整了他的位置，他沿着温切斯特连环步枪向前看，直到不偏不倚地瞄准飞艇的左侧发动机时，他开了枪。枪声使那些正在向他爬过来的士兵抬起了头。 一秒钟后，发动机突然开始轰鸣，又突然停住，飞艇向一侧倾斜，李能听到另外那只发动机的轰鸣声，但飞艇已经坠地了。 那些士兵停下了，尽可能地隐蔽着。这样李就可以知道他们有多少人，他数了数：二十五个。他有三十发子弹。 赫斯特爬到他的左肩膀上，紧靠着他。 “我来盯着这一边。”她说道。 她蜷伏在那块灰色的大石头上，耳朵耷拉在背上，除了她那双眼睛，她看上去就像一块毫不起眼的灰棕色石头。赫斯特并不漂亮：她就像一只野兔那样瘦巴巴的，普通极了，但她的眼睛却异常地色彩斑斓，淡淡的金褐色中点缀着深灰棕色和草绿色的光芒。现在这双眼睛正在向下注视着他们曾见过的最糟糕的风景：布满崎岖石块的光秃秃的山坡，再远处就是着火的森林。没有一片草叶，没有一星半点的绿色。 她轻轻地摇了摇耳朵。 “他们在说话，”她说，“我能听见，但我听不懂。” “俄语。”他说道，“他们准备一起跑着冲上来。对我们来说，这是最难对付的，所以他们要这么做。” “向前瞄准。”她说。 “我会的。可是见鬼，我不想杀人，赫斯特。” “不是我们杀死他们，就是他们杀死我们。” “不，不仅如此，”他说，“是他们的生命，还是莱拉的生命的问题。虽然我不知道是以什么方式，但我们和那个孩子联系在一起，我为此很高兴。” “左边有个人要开枪。”赫斯特说道。正当她说的时候，那个人的来复枪发出响声，离她蹲着的地方一英尺的那块石头上，石头碎片飞了起来。子弹呼啸着飞向峡谷，她却纹丝未动。 “哦，这么干让我感觉好多了。”李说着开始认真瞄准。 他开枪了，可供瞄准的只是一小块蓝颜色，但他还是打中了。伴随着一声惊叫，那个人倒下去死了。 于是战斗开始了。顷刻间，枪声、子弹横飞的呼啸声和岩石被击碎的声音交织在一起，回响在山峦和山峦后的峡谷中。火药味和岩石被子弹击中发出的焦味和森林燃烧的焦味差不多，整个世界仿佛都在燃烧。 李站着的那块石头很快就伤痕累累，满是弹孔，他能感觉到子弹击中时的震动。有一次他还看见一颗子弹呼啸而过的风吹动了赫斯特背上的毛。但她丝毫没有移动，他也没有停止开枪。 最初那段时间是残酷的。紧接其后的间歇里，李发现自己受伤了，他脸颊下面的石头上有血迹，他的右手和来复枪的枪栓上一片通红。 赫斯特靠近看了看。 “没什么大不了的，”她说，“是一颗子弹削掉了一块头皮。” “赫斯特，你数了吗，有几个人倒下去了？” “没有，我正忙着躲子弹呢。想办法再装点弹药，伙计。” 他滚到岩石后面，来回拉着枪栓，枪栓滚烫，从头上伤口滴下的鲜血已经干结，使得枪上的机关变得非常僵涩，他仔细地往那儿吐唾沫，它终于松动了。 他又回到原来的位置上，但他还没来得及瞄准，又中了一枪。 他的左肩膀好像爆炸了。有那么几秒钟他感到一阵眩晕，然后他又恢复了意识，但左臂已经失去了知觉，不能动了，一阵巨大的痛楚即将在他的体内爆发，但还没有开始，这给了他再次集中精力射击的力量。 他用那只毫无生命的无用的手臂支撑着来复枪，而一分钟前它还那么充满活力。他聚精会神地瞄准：一枪…???两枪……三枪，每一枪都打中了一个人。 “怎么样？”他咕哝道。 “打得好。”她离他的脸很近，小声答道，“别停下，那块大石头后面——” 他看着，瞄准，开枪。那个身影倒下了。 “他妈的，这些都是跟我一样的人。”他说。 “说这个没用。”她说，“无论如何都得打。” “你相信格鲁曼吗？” “当然，向前打，李。” 一声枪响：另一个人倒下了，他的精灵像蜡烛一样熄灭了。 这时出现了长时间的寂静。李在他的口袋里摸索着，又找到几颗子弹。正当他装子弹的时候，他有一种很不寻常的感觉，他的心几乎停止了跳动：那是赫斯特被泪水打湿的脸，紧贴着他的脸。 “李，这是我的错。”她说道。 "why?" “那个苏克埃林人。我让你拿着他的戒指。如果没有它，我们就不会有这个麻烦。” “你以为我只是做你让我做的事吗？我拿走它是因为女巫——” 他没有说完，因为又一颗子弹打中了他。这次子弹打中了他的左腿，他还没来得及眨眼，第三颗子弹又打中了他的头，像一根滚烫的烧火棍烙在他的脑袋上。 “现在没多少时间了，赫斯特。”他喃喃地说道，他试图稳住自己。 “女巫，李！你说女巫！记得吗？” 可怜的赫斯特，现在她倒下了，不再像她成年的大多数时候那样警惕而精神抖擞地蹲着了，她那美丽的亮棕色的眼睛开始变得暗淡无神。 “仍然很美丽，”他说着，“哦，赫斯特，是的，女巫。她给了我……” “是的，她给了。那朵花。” “在我胸前的口袋里，把它拿出来，赫斯特，我动不了了。” 这真是件艰难的工作，但她还是用坚硬的喙把那朵红色的小花啄了出来，放在他的右手上。他费了很大劲才握紧了它，说道：“塞拉芬娜?佩卡拉，帮帮我，我求求……” 下面又有了动静：他松开那朵花，瞄准，开枪，那个动作停止了。 赫斯特不行了。 “赫斯特，你别走在我前面。”李轻声说道。 “李，没有你的陪伴我一分钟都不能忍受。”她也悄声对他说道。 “你觉得女巫会来吗？” “她当然会来的。我们应该早点呼唤她。” “有很多事我们早就该做。” "maybe……" 又一声枪响，这次子弹深深地打进了他身体的什么地方，打中了他生命的核心。他想：它不会在那里找到它的，赫斯特是我的核心。他看见下面蓝光一闪，于是他费力挪动枪管朝着它。 “就是他。”赫斯特喘息着说。 李发觉扣动扳机很困难，所有的事情都很困难。他不得不打了三次，最后一次才打中。穿蓝制服的身影从山坡上滚了下去。 又一阵长时间的沉寂。疼痛已不再畏惧他，疼痛就像一群豺狼，围绕着他，在喘息着靠近他，他知道它们不会放过他，直到把他生吞活剥。 “还剩下一个人，”赫斯特喃喃地说道，“他正往齐柏林飞艇上爬。” 李隐隐约约看见了他。一个皇家部队的士兵正准备从他同伙的败仗中偷偷逃走。 “我不能朝一个人的后背开枪。”李说道。 “剩下一发子弹死去也是可耻的。” 于是他用最后一发子弹瞄准飞艇，飞艇轰鸣着，试图用一个发动机起飞。那发子弹一定炽热如火，或者森林里着火的树叶被向上的气流吹到了飞艇上，因为气艇的燃料立刻变成一个翻腾着的桔黄色的火球，飞艇的气囊和金属骨架先是上升了一点儿，然后开始翻滚着下沉，缓慢，轻柔，然而却注定了灭亡。 正要逃走的那个人，还有另外六七个人，是皇家卫队最后剩下的，都被砸向他们的火球吞没了。 李看见了火球，在耳边的轰隆声中他听到赫斯特说：“他们都完了，李。” 他说道，或是想道：“其实那些可怜的人完全没必要这样，我们也是。” 她说：“我们拖住了他们，阻止了他们，我们在帮助莱拉。” 然后她把自己那小小的、骄傲的、破碎的身体紧紧贴在他的脸上，他们就这样死去了。