[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.There's times in July and Augustthat this streambed isn't more than a foot or two deep."file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20.r%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.html (295 of 332) [1/3/2005 12:28:09 AM] file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.htmlLooking at the sixty-foot-wide river, knowing from the depths called out byMorse's sons that they were presently in twenty to twenty-five feet of water at anygiven time, Ryan had a hard time believing that."Part of this water comes from snowmelt," Donovan went on."But some of theresearchers at the Foundation think it has something to do with a fluctuating watertable in this area, as well.Everything has to be working in ac-cordance to get thewater this way.""An artesian well system," Doc suggested."Under-ground springs that are fedfrom the snowmelt, then filter out the impurities through stratum before passingthe water on.""Mebbe.I'm not much into water.But I do know if we don't get a full ration ofwater in the spring, the Foundation struggles for the rest of the year.""How do you get it?" Doc asked."We dam up the stream," Donovan answered."Block it up for two, three months, however long it takes, then release it, forcingit to go in the direction we want it to.""You reconfigure this stream?" Doc asked."Have to.""Why not just build the Foundation near the stream?" the old man asked."Logistics," Ryan answered."They build the Founda-tion on the river, it's morelikely to be found.So they build it somewhere it won't be as likely to be foundand pull the water in.""You dammed this stream?" Mildred asked."As well as we could," Donovan said."What did you use?""Timbers, rock.It's not watertight, but it allows us to build up the water supply."file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20.r%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.html (296 of 332) [1/3/2005 12:28:09 AM] file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.html"And there's still this much water left over?" Doc asked."Yeah.Gotta be real careful about dam building.Don't try to hold back enoughand we run short of water.Try to hold back too much, have it break the damdown, run even shorter of water and mebbe get some folks chilled for theirtrouble.Seen it work out both ways.Trick is to get it just right.""THIS IS BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY, lover."Ryan held Krysty in his arms as he sat against the railing.He felt her shake in hisembrace as though she had a chill.He wrapped the blanket he'd gotten for hermore tightly about her.The terrain had turned definitely more mountainous.He couldn't rememberreading if it had always been that way, or if the present landscape was the directresult of the nukecaust and all the earth pounders.Spruce and fir dotted themountaintops, spilling into thick forests below."Nice to look at," Ryan agreed.Krysty took his hand."Make me a promise, lover." She turned, looking with bothher emerald eyes into his single ice-blue one."What?""If I die somewhere up in this rough country," she be-gan."You're not going to die.""No arguments.Just something I've got to say."Ryan swallowed hard but didn't say anything.file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20.r%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.html (297 of 332) [1/3/2005 12:28:09 AM] file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.html"If I should die up here," Krysty said, "promise me that if you're able, you'll findme a grave site up in those moun-tains and leave me there to rest."Ryan couldn't speak around the hard knot lodged in his throat."If you can't say it," Krysty said, knowing him so well, better than anyone everhad or ever would again, "just nod."Ryan gave her a single, tight nod.But it was more than an agreement with her; itwas an acknowledgment that he might have come this far still only to fail.Hecursed himself for ever letting that thought cross his mind.THE STREAM GOT increasingly narrow, finally getting down to something lessthan thirty feet across.It held steady at a depth of fifteen feet, plenty of room forthe boats to pass.By early evening, they'd entered a canyon area that reached between forty andsixty feet above the stream.Ryan glanced up at the high-walled rock, cool in theshad-ows that stretched out over him.Less than a quarter mile in, the canyon rounded out, forming a natural cistern thathad to have been a hundred feet across.It was a natural harbor site for boats,protected from the wind and most of the elements.Besides the channel they'd followed up from the Jeffer-son River, Ryan notedthree other channels on the north side of the cistern.Streams followed each one ofthose, as well.The dam blocked the stream directly in front of them.It was huge, constructed oftimbers fifteen feet across and stacked over a hundred feet tall.Groups of menworked near the top, laying in new logs cut to fit."By the Three Kennedys!" Doc exclaimed, gawking up at the construction."Dark night," J.B.breathed.file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20.r%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.html (298 of 332) [1/3/2005 12:28:09 AM] file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.html"It can be impressive to look at," Donovan admitted."I don't think I'll ever getused to them even after all the ones I've built.""How many have you built?" Mildred asked."This is my ninth year as construction chief.Worked on the ones before, as well [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl milosnikstop.keep.pl
.There's times in July and Augustthat this streambed isn't more than a foot or two deep."file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20.r%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.html (295 of 332) [1/3/2005 12:28:09 AM] file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.htmlLooking at the sixty-foot-wide river, knowing from the depths called out byMorse's sons that they were presently in twenty to twenty-five feet of water at anygiven time, Ryan had a hard time believing that."Part of this water comes from snowmelt," Donovan went on."But some of theresearchers at the Foundation think it has something to do with a fluctuating watertable in this area, as well.Everything has to be working in ac-cordance to get thewater this way.""An artesian well system," Doc suggested."Under-ground springs that are fedfrom the snowmelt, then filter out the impurities through stratum before passingthe water on.""Mebbe.I'm not much into water.But I do know if we don't get a full ration ofwater in the spring, the Foundation struggles for the rest of the year.""How do you get it?" Doc asked."We dam up the stream," Donovan answered."Block it up for two, three months, however long it takes, then release it, forcingit to go in the direction we want it to.""You reconfigure this stream?" Doc asked."Have to.""Why not just build the Foundation near the stream?" the old man asked."Logistics," Ryan answered."They build the Founda-tion on the river, it's morelikely to be found.So they build it somewhere it won't be as likely to be foundand pull the water in.""You dammed this stream?" Mildred asked."As well as we could," Donovan said."What did you use?""Timbers, rock.It's not watertight, but it allows us to build up the water supply."file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20.r%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.html (296 of 332) [1/3/2005 12:28:09 AM] file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.html"And there's still this much water left over?" Doc asked."Yeah.Gotta be real careful about dam building.Don't try to hold back enoughand we run short of water.Try to hold back too much, have it break the damdown, run even shorter of water and mebbe get some folks chilled for theirtrouble.Seen it work out both ways.Trick is to get it just right.""THIS IS BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY, lover."Ryan held Krysty in his arms as he sat against the railing.He felt her shake in hisembrace as though she had a chill.He wrapped the blanket he'd gotten for hermore tightly about her.The terrain had turned definitely more mountainous.He couldn't rememberreading if it had always been that way, or if the present landscape was the directresult of the nukecaust and all the earth pounders.Spruce and fir dotted themountaintops, spilling into thick forests below."Nice to look at," Ryan agreed.Krysty took his hand."Make me a promise, lover." She turned, looking with bothher emerald eyes into his single ice-blue one."What?""If I die somewhere up in this rough country," she be-gan."You're not going to die.""No arguments.Just something I've got to say."Ryan swallowed hard but didn't say anything.file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20.r%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.html (297 of 332) [1/3/2005 12:28:09 AM] file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.html"If I should die up here," Krysty said, "promise me that if you're able, you'll findme a grave site up in those moun-tains and leave me there to rest."Ryan couldn't speak around the hard knot lodged in his throat."If you can't say it," Krysty said, knowing him so well, better than anyone everhad or ever would again, "just nod."Ryan gave her a single, tight nod.But it was more than an agreement with her; itwas an acknowledgment that he might have come this far still only to fail.Hecursed himself for ever letting that thought cross his mind.THE STREAM GOT increasingly narrow, finally getting down to something lessthan thirty feet across.It held steady at a depth of fifteen feet, plenty of room forthe boats to pass.By early evening, they'd entered a canyon area that reached between forty andsixty feet above the stream.Ryan glanced up at the high-walled rock, cool in theshad-ows that stretched out over him.Less than a quarter mile in, the canyon rounded out, forming a natural cistern thathad to have been a hundred feet across.It was a natural harbor site for boats,protected from the wind and most of the elements.Besides the channel they'd followed up from the Jeffer-son River, Ryan notedthree other channels on the north side of the cistern.Streams followed each one ofthose, as well.The dam blocked the stream directly in front of them.It was huge, constructed oftimbers fifteen feet across and stacked over a hundred feet tall.Groups of menworked near the top, laying in new logs cut to fit."By the Three Kennedys!" Doc exclaimed, gawking up at the construction."Dark night," J.B.breathed.file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20.r%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.html (298 of 332) [1/3/2005 12:28:09 AM] file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2045%20-%20Starfall.html"It can be impressive to look at," Donovan admitted."I don't think I'll ever getused to them even after all the ones I've built.""How many have you built?" Mildred asked."This is my ninth year as construction chief.Worked on the ones before, as well [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]