Атлант расправил плечи
The Sacred and the Profane
Idon’tknowwhoownsthisplacenow,andIsuspectthattheownerswillbehardtofind,ortheywouldn’thaveletitcometothis.Thenwe’llgoovereveryroominthelaboratory.
Later,we’llgetafewengineerstoflyhereandcombtherestoftheplace."
Theystartedout,butshestoppedforamomentonthethreshold.
"Hank,thatmotorwasthemostvaluablethinginsidethisfactory,"shesaid,hervoicelow."Itwasmorevaluablethanthewholefactoryandeverythingitevercontained.Yetitwaspassedupandleftintherefuse.Itwastheonethingnobodyfoundworththetroubleoftaking."
"That’swhatfrightensmeaboutthis,"heanswered.
Thepersonnelofficedidnottakethemlong.Theyfounditbythesignwhichwasleftonthedoor,butitwastheonlythingleft.Therewasnofurnitureinside,nopapers,nothingbutthesplintersofsmashedwindows.
Theywentbacktotheroomofthemotor.Crawlingonhandsandknees,theyexaminedeveryscrapofthejunkthatlitteredthefloor.
Therewaslittletofind.Theyputasidethepapersthatseemedtocontainlaboratorynotes,butnonereferredtothemotor,andtherewerenopagesofthemanuscriptamongthem.Thepopcornwrappersandthewhiskeybottletestifiedtothekindofinvadinghordesthathadrolledthroughtheroom,likewaveswashingtheremnantsofdestructionawaytounknownbottoms.
