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"Granny does, but there's something else that bothers me." He saw her waiting
expression and continued, "The two planets I saw in the dream were
Jupiter and Saturn."
"What's so strange about that?"
"I never heard of them before, never knew they existed. But there they were,
in my dream."
She said slowly, "You believe it's more than a dream, don't you?"
"I think so."
"That would frighten me." She looked worriedly at him. "I wouldn't tell anyone
about it, Jedro."
"Because of what Granny said?"
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"She warned you not to."
"What could she know about it?" he demanded.
"I don't know." Kathy glanced toward the fortune teller's booth. "She knows an
awful lot."
"Yea," he said heavily.
6
JEDRO AWOKE with the feeling.
Hurriedly dressing, he clambered down from the wagon. A single shaft of light
came from the mess tent and he heard the clatter of pots. An orange-
yellow thread lay astride the eastern horizon and the paling sky above it was
clear. Low in the west, where the sky still was dark, he saw the glimmer of
stars. The air was nippy, but calm. Outwardly, it was much like any other
morning. Nevertheless, he knew it was going to rain. Not only rain, but storm
violently. His mind whispered of fierce winds. He couldn't remember having had
the feeling quite so strongly.
The horses and relks, crowding against the fence, whinnied softly at his
approach. He sensed their uneasiness. It was communicated by their quick,
restless movements, the skittish way they tossed their heads. They know, he
thought. He spoke encouragingly to them as he brought their feed and refilled
the water troughs.
He found the lions restlessly prowling their cage. In the heavy gloom, broken
only by the single night-light that hung from the center pole, they resembled
gray shadows. Heads lowered, they padded back and forth inside the bars. Taber
saw him and halted, switching his tail. His golden eyes glowed in the dim
light.
Jedro reached between the bars and scratched him. "Everything will be all
right, fellow." A soft rumbling came from the big cat's throat. As Rana
pressed forward, he tickled her under the chin. Taber turned his head, gazing
at him. Jedro fancied that the animal's eyes were filled with understanding.
After breakfast he went outside. Klore, climbing swiftly, flooded the scape
with its yellow light. He scanned the banners and posters that lined the
sawdust street. Most, he knew, could be adequately secured or quickly taken
down. But what of the big tent?
He studied it worriedly. In the still morning air, its red- and white-
striped top hung limply between the supporting poles. He had a quick vision of
it billowing in the wind, ripping loose from the stakes, soaring off into a
blackened sky. If that happened, the lions would go mad with fright. He moved
closer to inspect the metal stakes that held the tent ropes. They appeared
firmly imbedded in the ground. Grasping one, he tugged at it experimentally.
It failed to budge.
"What do you think you're doing, boy?"
Jedro released the stake and whirled around, flushing at sight of the carnival
owner. Tall and lean, Faust glared down at him.
"I was trying to see how strong it was," he explained.
"What business is that of yours?"
"There's a big storm coming."
Faust gazed upward at the cloudless sky. "On a day like this?" he demanded
sarcastically.
"It's going to be a bad one," insisted Jedro. "A big rain, a wild wind.
I was worried about the lions."
A look of recognition came into the carnival owner's face. "Oh, you're
Jason's helper -- the boy who captures lions." He laughed nastily.
Jedro said desperately, "The lions get nervous when it storms, and if anything
happened to the big tent..."
"Suppose you let me worry about that," interrupted Faust. "Get back to your
work. Next time I catch you fooling around with the stakes, out you go."
"Yes, sir." Jedro hurried away, glad to escape the carnival owner's wrath. But
it was going to storm, he thought miserably. Even the animals knew that. At a
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safe distance he turned to look back. Standing in the middle of the sawdust
street, Faust was gazing thoughtfully into the yellow-blue sky.
In the late afternoon a black smudge appeared on the western horizon. It grew
rapidly. Jedro watched it apprehensively, wondering how bad the storm would
be. Recalling one in the Ullan Hills that had uprooted trees, flinging them
through the air like straws, he shuddered.
Black, scudding clouds, like rivers in rampage, careened across the sky,
blotting out both Klore and Bergon. The day darkened. A wind came up with
alarming suddenness. Gusty and raw, it ballooned tents, caused banners to whip
about with sharp cracking sounds, and sent candy wrappers and paper bags
sailing along the sawdust street. Customers crowding the carnival grounds eyed
the sky worriedly; many hurriedly began leaving.
A peal of thunder rolled across the sky; as if that were a signal, the rain [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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