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- Колин Маккалоу
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- Стр. 239/535
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Luke
looked
at
the
deadly
thing
he
gripped
,
which
was
not
at
all
like
a
West
Indian
machete
.
It
widened
into
a
large
triangle
instead
of
tapering
to
a
point
,
and
had
a
wicked
hook
like
a
rooster
's
spur
at
one
of
the
two
blade
ends
.
"
A
machete
is
too
small
for
North
Queensland
cane
,
"
Arne
said
,
finished
his
demonstration
.
"
This
is
the
right
toy
,
you
'll
find
.
Keep
it
sharp
,
and
good
luck
.
"
Off
he
went
to
his
own
section
,
leaving
Luke
standing
undecided
for
a
moment
.
Then
,
shrugging
,
he
started
work
.
Within
minutes
he
understood
why
they
left
it
to
slaves
and
to
races
not
sophisticated
enough
to
know
there
were
easier
ways
to
make
a
living
;
like
shearing
,
he
thought
with
wry
humor
.
Bend
,
hack
,
straighten
,
clutch
the
unwieldy
topheavy
bunch
securely
,
slide
its
length
through
the
hands
,
whack
off
the
leaves
,
drop
it
in
a
tidy
heap
,
go
to
the
next
cluster
of
stems
,
bend
,
hack
,
straighten
,
hack
,
add
it
to
the
heap
...
The
cane
was
alive
with
vermin
:
rats
,
bandicoots
,
cockroaches
,
toads
,
spiders
,
snakes
,
wasps
,
flies
and
bees
.
Everything
that
could
bite
viciously
or
sting
unbearably
was
well
represented
.
For
that
reason
the
cutters
burned
the
cane
first
,
preferring
the
filth
of
working
charred
crops
to
the
depredations
of
green
,
living
cane
.
Even
so
they
were
stung
,
bitten
and
cut
.
If
it
had
n't
been
for
the
boots
Luke
's
feet
would
have
been
worse
off
than
his
hands
,
but
no
cutter
ever
wore
gloves
.
They
slowed
a
man
down
,
and
time
was
money
in
this
game
.
Besides
,
gloves
were
sissy
.
At
sundown
Arne
called
a
halt
,
and
came
to
see
how
Luke
had
fared
.
"
Hey
,
mate
,
not
bad
!
"
he
shouted
,
thumping
Luke
on
the
back
.
"
Five
tons
;
not
bad
for
a
first
day
!
"
It
was
not
a
long
walk
back
to
the
barracks
,
but
tropical
night
fell
so
suddenly
it
was
dark
as
they
arrived
.
Before
going
inside
they
collected
naked
in
a
communal
shower
,
then
,
towels
around
their
waists
,
they
trooped
into
the
barracks
,
where
whichever
cutter
on
cook
duty
that
week
had
mountains
of
whatever
was
his
specialty
ready
on
the
table
.
Today
it
was
steak
and
potatoes
,
damper
bread
and
jam
roly-poly
;
the
men
fell
on
it
and
wolfed
every
last
particle
down
,
ravenous
.
Two
rows
of
iron
pallets
faced
each
other
down
either
side
of
a
long
room
made
of
corrugated
iron
;
sighing
and
cursing
the
cane
with
an
originality
a
bullocky
might
have
envied
,
the
men
flopped
naked
on
top
of
unbleached
sheets
,
drew
their
mosquito
nets
down
from
the
rings
and
within
moments
were
asleep
,
vague
shapes
under
gauzy
tents
.
