Читать книгу The Science Fiction Anthology онлайн

660 страница из 776

“Beulah made trouble in her own way, though. As soon as I got within reach, she grabbed me with that long nose of hers, and wouldn’t let go. She didn’t hurt me or anything like that; she just wanted company in her misery. I couldn’t coax her with food. The very thought of food made her shudder.

“I couldn’t reach her chains to cut her loose, and I couldn’t reach the radio to call for help. If it hadn’t been for the Ionosphere Guard, I might have starved to death. I’d hired the parking orbit for twelve hours, and when I was still in it after that time, Port Control started to holler. I could hear them on my loud speaker, but I couldn’t answer them. So the Ionosphere Guard finally sent up a small craft with a lieutenant and a three-man crew in it to see what was wrong.

“Those sailors were good. They didn’t even look surprised; they just went to work as if they handled elephants in space every day. They drove four lines through the ring bolts I’d welded in the spin-deck, cast Beulah loose and hauled her over to her new spot as neat as you please.