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"Duckfoot! Duckfoot!"
One of the canvasmen reached down to pick up a tent stake. The last Tyli saw of
the Boss Canvasman, he was leaping through the air to tackle the roughneck who
had disobeyed his orders.
THIRTEEN
The judge, wearing what Tyli recognized as a mountain revolutionary's rosette on
his black collar, turned his emotionless face toward the charging officer. "What
charges do the police bring before this court, and who is it that is to be
charged?"
A captain of police moved from a side table and halted before the judge's bench.
"The first charge is desertion from a lawfully appointed guardian, and the one
so charged is Tyli Strang." The captain pointed at Tyli. She stood to the left
of the bench, her hands shackled in front of her. Similarly shackled, the
Governor stood next to her studying the judge's face. "The second charge is
attempted abduction of a minor from the planetary population, and the one so
charged is John J. O'Hara." The captain pointed.
The judge lifted a sheaf of papers and held them out toward the captain.
"Identify these."
The captain moved closer to the bench, examined the papers, then nodded. "Those
are the facts concerning the charges now before the court."
The judge turned toward Tyli and the Governor. "Have copies of these charges
been made available to both of you?"
Tyli nodded, her eyes wide with fear. The Governor frowned. "Judge, are we
allowed to have someone represent us in one of your trials?"
The judge nodded. "If you wish. Is your representative in the court?"
The Governor looked over his shoulder at the half-empty room. Neither Patch nor
Duckfoot was there. "I'm sorry, Judge, but he isn't here yet."
The judge looked back at the papers in his hands. "Then, we shall proceed.
Whenever your representative shows, he may continue your defense." The judge
turned toward the clerk. "We are ready, then. Under the charge of desertion,
record Tyli Strang; under the charge of attempted abduction, record John J.
O'Hara. Under both charges: for the police, record Captain Hansel Mendt; for the
court," the judge turned toward O'Hara, "record Anthony Sciavelli."
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Tyli saw the Governor silently form the name "Sciavelli" with his lips, than an
officer led the two to the defendants' dock where they remained as the police
captain began his argument. The entire time, O'Hara stared at the judge.
That evening in the holding room, Tyli watched the Governor standing before the
room's only window, staring at his own thoughts. "Mr. John?"
He turned and looked at the Moss Haired Girl. At the center of her enormous ball
of white hair two wide, frightened eyes searched the Governor's face for hope.
"Doesn't look good, does it. Sweetie Pie?"
Tyli looked at the rough plank floor. "I'm sorry. I know Duck-foot got you into
this because of me."
O'Hara walked over and stopped beside her. "Look at me!" Tyli looked up into his
face and saw the blackest frown that she had ever seen on anything, with the
possible exception of Gorgo, the gorilla in the menagerie. "I am John J. O'Hara.
Nobody gets me into anything I don't want to get in."
"Yes, Mr. John." Tyli watched as O'Hara went back to the window, then again,
lost himself in thought. "Mr. John?"
Without moving, the Governor answered. "What is it?"
"Who is Anthony Sciavelli?"
"The judge."
"I know that, but who is he? I saw you looking at him like you knew him."
The Governor looked down, pursed his lips, then looked up at the night sky. "I
guess if your digs had been in with the flyers you would have heard about
Sciavelli. L'Uccello. That means 'The Bird.' That's what he was called twenty-
five years ago: L'Uccello." The Governor faced Tyli. "You should have seen him
on the trapeze, like liquid fire whirling through the air. A bird is such a
clumsy creature compared to Sciavelli against the canvas of the main top."
"He was with your show on Earth?"
The Governor nodded, then turned back to the window. "Anthony, his wife Clia,
and his brother Vito were the Flying Scia-vellis. The two seasons they were with
us were the best the show ever had." He held out his hands. "Everything else in
the show was just filler. The push came to see the Flying Sciavellis." O'Hara
lowered his hands, then rubbed his chin as he continued to stare out of the
window. "Anthony and Clia were the perfect lovers. If it hadn't been for their
act, they probably would have been famous just for how much they were in love."
O'Hara turned and shrugged. "It's a very old story."
"Vito fell in love with Clia?"
The Governor nodded. "Vito was the catcher, so when Clia made it clear that she
didn't love him, and found his advances offensive, Vito plotted to get rid of
Anthony. At least, that's the way most of the show people figured it. The
Sciavellis never worked with a net. That night they were in the middle of their
over-and-under routine. Vito would do his knee drop and ready himself to do the
exchanges. Clia would go first on the other bar, swing, then do a single
somersault as she left the bar and come to rest holding onto Vito's wrists.
Then, on the next swing, Anthony would come out, and at the same time he left
the bar and somersaulted toward Vito, Clia would release and head for the bar.
They would do that six or seven times in quick succession."
The Governor turned back to the window. "Maybe Vito was upset and got his
signals crossed, maybe he wanted to kill Clia. In any event, she went down. I
remember Anthony and Vito still hanging on their bars, swinging, looking down at
the sawdust while a crowd rushed out to Clia's body. They both came down the
tapes together, then Anthony calmly walked over to Vito, grabbed him around his
neck, and broke it. Vito died instantly." O'Hara shook his head. "We did
everything we could, but we couldn't prove that Vito was responsible for Clia's
death. So, Anthony was condemned to the penal colony here, Doldra."
"Mr. John, does he blame you for being sent here?"
"I don't know. But in court he went mad-screaming threats at every and
anything." O'Hara sighed.
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"Mr. John, what's going to happen to us?"
"I'd just be guessing."
Tyli sniffed, then held her hands to her eyes. "I wish Duckfoot was here-and
Diane. Any my friends^from the kid show..."
O'Hara walked over and placed his hand on Tyli's shoulder. "Duckfoot and the
Patch were working on something to get us out of this mess. I didn't want to
tell you because it might not have been possible." He shrugged. "I guess it
doesn't make any difference now."
Tyli lowered her hands and looked up at O'Hara. "What was Duckfoot going to do?"
"Adopt you. That would have taken care of both the desertion and abduction
charges. But, if they did manage to get someone in authority to sign the proper
papers, they didn't get it done in time."
"Adopt me?" The Governor nodded and went back to the window. "Tyli Tarzak."
After trying the name to see how it fit her tongue, she decided she liked it.
FOURTEEN
Later that night, Tyli and the Governor were again in the defendants' dock. The
police captain sat at a table, arms folded, face grim. The Governor frowned as
Duckfoot and the Patch emerged from the door behind the judge's bench. Duckfoot
marched straight for the spectators' chairs and sat down next to Diane, his face
an impenetrable mask. The Patch faced the Governor, shrugged, then went to the
chairs and seated himself next to Duckfoot. The room was silent for a moment,
then Judge Sciavelli emerged from the door and took his seat behind the bench.
As was the custom on Doldra, no one rose. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl chiara76.opx.pl
"Duckfoot! Duckfoot!"
One of the canvasmen reached down to pick up a tent stake. The last Tyli saw of
the Boss Canvasman, he was leaping through the air to tackle the roughneck who
had disobeyed his orders.
THIRTEEN
The judge, wearing what Tyli recognized as a mountain revolutionary's rosette on
his black collar, turned his emotionless face toward the charging officer. "What
charges do the police bring before this court, and who is it that is to be
charged?"
A captain of police moved from a side table and halted before the judge's bench.
"The first charge is desertion from a lawfully appointed guardian, and the one
so charged is Tyli Strang." The captain pointed at Tyli. She stood to the left
of the bench, her hands shackled in front of her. Similarly shackled, the
Governor stood next to her studying the judge's face. "The second charge is
attempted abduction of a minor from the planetary population, and the one so
charged is John J. O'Hara." The captain pointed.
The judge lifted a sheaf of papers and held them out toward the captain.
"Identify these."
The captain moved closer to the bench, examined the papers, then nodded. "Those
are the facts concerning the charges now before the court."
The judge turned toward Tyli and the Governor. "Have copies of these charges
been made available to both of you?"
Tyli nodded, her eyes wide with fear. The Governor frowned. "Judge, are we
allowed to have someone represent us in one of your trials?"
The judge nodded. "If you wish. Is your representative in the court?"
The Governor looked over his shoulder at the half-empty room. Neither Patch nor
Duckfoot was there. "I'm sorry, Judge, but he isn't here yet."
The judge looked back at the papers in his hands. "Then, we shall proceed.
Whenever your representative shows, he may continue your defense." The judge
turned toward the clerk. "We are ready, then. Under the charge of desertion,
record Tyli Strang; under the charge of attempted abduction, record John J.
O'Hara. Under both charges: for the police, record Captain Hansel Mendt; for the
court," the judge turned toward O'Hara, "record Anthony Sciavelli."
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Tyli saw the Governor silently form the name "Sciavelli" with his lips, than an
officer led the two to the defendants' dock where they remained as the police
captain began his argument. The entire time, O'Hara stared at the judge.
That evening in the holding room, Tyli watched the Governor standing before the
room's only window, staring at his own thoughts. "Mr. John?"
He turned and looked at the Moss Haired Girl. At the center of her enormous ball
of white hair two wide, frightened eyes searched the Governor's face for hope.
"Doesn't look good, does it. Sweetie Pie?"
Tyli looked at the rough plank floor. "I'm sorry. I know Duck-foot got you into
this because of me."
O'Hara walked over and stopped beside her. "Look at me!" Tyli looked up into his
face and saw the blackest frown that she had ever seen on anything, with the
possible exception of Gorgo, the gorilla in the menagerie. "I am John J. O'Hara.
Nobody gets me into anything I don't want to get in."
"Yes, Mr. John." Tyli watched as O'Hara went back to the window, then again,
lost himself in thought. "Mr. John?"
Without moving, the Governor answered. "What is it?"
"Who is Anthony Sciavelli?"
"The judge."
"I know that, but who is he? I saw you looking at him like you knew him."
The Governor looked down, pursed his lips, then looked up at the night sky. "I
guess if your digs had been in with the flyers you would have heard about
Sciavelli. L'Uccello. That means 'The Bird.' That's what he was called twenty-
five years ago: L'Uccello." The Governor faced Tyli. "You should have seen him
on the trapeze, like liquid fire whirling through the air. A bird is such a
clumsy creature compared to Sciavelli against the canvas of the main top."
"He was with your show on Earth?"
The Governor nodded, then turned back to the window. "Anthony, his wife Clia,
and his brother Vito were the Flying Scia-vellis. The two seasons they were with
us were the best the show ever had." He held out his hands. "Everything else in
the show was just filler. The push came to see the Flying Sciavellis." O'Hara
lowered his hands, then rubbed his chin as he continued to stare out of the
window. "Anthony and Clia were the perfect lovers. If it hadn't been for their
act, they probably would have been famous just for how much they were in love."
O'Hara turned and shrugged. "It's a very old story."
"Vito fell in love with Clia?"
The Governor nodded. "Vito was the catcher, so when Clia made it clear that she
didn't love him, and found his advances offensive, Vito plotted to get rid of
Anthony. At least, that's the way most of the show people figured it. The
Sciavellis never worked with a net. That night they were in the middle of their
over-and-under routine. Vito would do his knee drop and ready himself to do the
exchanges. Clia would go first on the other bar, swing, then do a single
somersault as she left the bar and come to rest holding onto Vito's wrists.
Then, on the next swing, Anthony would come out, and at the same time he left
the bar and somersaulted toward Vito, Clia would release and head for the bar.
They would do that six or seven times in quick succession."
The Governor turned back to the window. "Maybe Vito was upset and got his
signals crossed, maybe he wanted to kill Clia. In any event, she went down. I
remember Anthony and Vito still hanging on their bars, swinging, looking down at
the sawdust while a crowd rushed out to Clia's body. They both came down the
tapes together, then Anthony calmly walked over to Vito, grabbed him around his
neck, and broke it. Vito died instantly." O'Hara shook his head. "We did
everything we could, but we couldn't prove that Vito was responsible for Clia's
death. So, Anthony was condemned to the penal colony here, Doldra."
"Mr. John, does he blame you for being sent here?"
"I don't know. But in court he went mad-screaming threats at every and
anything." O'Hara sighed.
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Click here to buy
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"Mr. John, what's going to happen to us?"
"I'd just be guessing."
Tyli sniffed, then held her hands to her eyes. "I wish Duckfoot was here-and
Diane. Any my friends^from the kid show..."
O'Hara walked over and placed his hand on Tyli's shoulder. "Duckfoot and the
Patch were working on something to get us out of this mess. I didn't want to
tell you because it might not have been possible." He shrugged. "I guess it
doesn't make any difference now."
Tyli lowered her hands and looked up at O'Hara. "What was Duckfoot going to do?"
"Adopt you. That would have taken care of both the desertion and abduction
charges. But, if they did manage to get someone in authority to sign the proper
papers, they didn't get it done in time."
"Adopt me?" The Governor nodded and went back to the window. "Tyli Tarzak."
After trying the name to see how it fit her tongue, she decided she liked it.
FOURTEEN
Later that night, Tyli and the Governor were again in the defendants' dock. The
police captain sat at a table, arms folded, face grim. The Governor frowned as
Duckfoot and the Patch emerged from the door behind the judge's bench. Duckfoot
marched straight for the spectators' chairs and sat down next to Diane, his face
an impenetrable mask. The Patch faced the Governor, shrugged, then went to the
chairs and seated himself next to Duckfoot. The room was silent for a moment,
then Judge Sciavelli emerged from the door and took his seat behind the bench.
As was the custom on Doldra, no one rose. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]