[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
ignored.
Now it stretched, yawned, and slowly made its way upward until it was standing on the main deck.
Confusion confounded it. A whole day had obviously passed, yet the detritus of the wanton celebration
supplied by the faceless islanders still lay scattered everywhere about the ship. The big cat s heavy brows
drew together. This was most unlike the human Captain, who experience had shown not merely favored
but demanded a taut, spotless vessel.
Wandering through the quarters of officers, crew, and passengers, the black litah s unease increased as
every successive cabin turned out to be as empty as the one before. Padding to the railing, it observed
numerous lights onshore, indicating that while life had abandoned the ship, it was present in plenty on the
nearby island. Clearly, something was seriously amiss. Not that the cat particularly cared about the
individual fates of an assortment of ill-smelling, ill-bred humans, but it was painfully conscious of a still
unpaid debt to one of them. Also, despite its exceptional physical abilities, it could not sail the ship by
itself. For lack of an opposable thumb, it thought, many things were lost.
It was the possessor, however, of certain compensations, not the least of which was exceptional physical
strength and senses that would put those of the most sensitive human to shame. Putting both massive
forepaws on the railing, it pushed off the deck and plunged over the side, landing with a surprisingly
modest splash in the calm black water. Powerful legs churning beneath its sleek body, it paddled steadily
toward shore.
Arriving safely on a deserted beach south of the main cluster of lights, it shook itself several times.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Ignoring an inherent impulse to pause and dry itself further, it contented itself with fluffing out its
magnificent black mane before heading north. Trotting along the beach with eyes and ears alert and nose
held close to the ground, it inhaled an excess of odors both familiar and exotic. No stranger by now to
salt water, it was able to discard quickly hundreds of natural scents as immaterial to its search. When it
encountered human spoor it slowed slightly, continuing onward only when it identified the odor as
unfamiliar.
When at last it intersected a shallow beach that reeked not only of one but of a number of familiar body
odors, it knew it had come to the place where its friends had been brought ashore. There was neither
smell nor sight of a struggle, which the cat found most peculiar. Knowing that the human Captain would
not have left her ship wholly untended and therefore suspecting foul play, the litah had expected to find
evidence of a fight. In the absence of such evidence, it grew, if possible, more wary than ever.
Voices approached and the litah hunkered down behind one of the small boats that had been drawn up
onshore. Two figures passed, faceless like those who had come aboard the ship to participate in the
human festivities. The litah could have killed them silently and easily, with a single bite to the neck of each.
But ignorance made it cautious. Not knowing what it was up against, the big cat held off doing anything
that might alert the locals to its presence on their island.
Instead, it waited motionless for the two blank-visaged humans to pass. Dark as the night, it was virtually
invisible in the absence of a bright moon, and the strollers did not even look in its direction. When their
silhouettes and voices had faded into the distance, the litah left the beach and moved inland.
So recent and strong were the multiple smells of his friends and the crew that he was able to diverge
from the actual path whenever it seemed he might pass into the open. Always picking up the scent trail
after such momentary digressions, the litah soon found itself concealed within a patch of brush, eyeing the
entrance to a single impressive stone structure. A quick circumnavigation of the edifice turned up no
traces of his companions. Therefore it was reasonable to assume that they had been taken inside, where
the spoor vanished.
Two islanders stood guard at the entrance. At the moment they were chatting with one another, relaxing
beneath cloudy but otherwise clement skies. As guards their presence was more ceremonial than
necessary. More than anything, they were there to attend to the needs of those fettered within should any
of them become hysterical beyond the bounds of expectation or tradition. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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ignored.
Now it stretched, yawned, and slowly made its way upward until it was standing on the main deck.
Confusion confounded it. A whole day had obviously passed, yet the detritus of the wanton celebration
supplied by the faceless islanders still lay scattered everywhere about the ship. The big cat s heavy brows
drew together. This was most unlike the human Captain, who experience had shown not merely favored
but demanded a taut, spotless vessel.
Wandering through the quarters of officers, crew, and passengers, the black litah s unease increased as
every successive cabin turned out to be as empty as the one before. Padding to the railing, it observed
numerous lights onshore, indicating that while life had abandoned the ship, it was present in plenty on the
nearby island. Clearly, something was seriously amiss. Not that the cat particularly cared about the
individual fates of an assortment of ill-smelling, ill-bred humans, but it was painfully conscious of a still
unpaid debt to one of them. Also, despite its exceptional physical abilities, it could not sail the ship by
itself. For lack of an opposable thumb, it thought, many things were lost.
It was the possessor, however, of certain compensations, not the least of which was exceptional physical
strength and senses that would put those of the most sensitive human to shame. Putting both massive
forepaws on the railing, it pushed off the deck and plunged over the side, landing with a surprisingly
modest splash in the calm black water. Powerful legs churning beneath its sleek body, it paddled steadily
toward shore.
Arriving safely on a deserted beach south of the main cluster of lights, it shook itself several times.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Ignoring an inherent impulse to pause and dry itself further, it contented itself with fluffing out its
magnificent black mane before heading north. Trotting along the beach with eyes and ears alert and nose
held close to the ground, it inhaled an excess of odors both familiar and exotic. No stranger by now to
salt water, it was able to discard quickly hundreds of natural scents as immaterial to its search. When it
encountered human spoor it slowed slightly, continuing onward only when it identified the odor as
unfamiliar.
When at last it intersected a shallow beach that reeked not only of one but of a number of familiar body
odors, it knew it had come to the place where its friends had been brought ashore. There was neither
smell nor sight of a struggle, which the cat found most peculiar. Knowing that the human Captain would
not have left her ship wholly untended and therefore suspecting foul play, the litah had expected to find
evidence of a fight. In the absence of such evidence, it grew, if possible, more wary than ever.
Voices approached and the litah hunkered down behind one of the small boats that had been drawn up
onshore. Two figures passed, faceless like those who had come aboard the ship to participate in the
human festivities. The litah could have killed them silently and easily, with a single bite to the neck of each.
But ignorance made it cautious. Not knowing what it was up against, the big cat held off doing anything
that might alert the locals to its presence on their island.
Instead, it waited motionless for the two blank-visaged humans to pass. Dark as the night, it was virtually
invisible in the absence of a bright moon, and the strollers did not even look in its direction. When their
silhouettes and voices had faded into the distance, the litah left the beach and moved inland.
So recent and strong were the multiple smells of his friends and the crew that he was able to diverge
from the actual path whenever it seemed he might pass into the open. Always picking up the scent trail
after such momentary digressions, the litah soon found itself concealed within a patch of brush, eyeing the
entrance to a single impressive stone structure. A quick circumnavigation of the edifice turned up no
traces of his companions. Therefore it was reasonable to assume that they had been taken inside, where
the spoor vanished.
Two islanders stood guard at the entrance. At the moment they were chatting with one another, relaxing
beneath cloudy but otherwise clement skies. As guards their presence was more ceremonial than
necessary. More than anything, they were there to attend to the needs of those fettered within should any
of them become hysterical beyond the bounds of expectation or tradition. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]