Мертвые души
Chapter 2
“Butyouwill,Iknow,excusemeifIsay(andIsayitoutofnospiritofprejudice,noryetascriticisingyourselfinanyway)—youwill,Iknow,excusemeifIsaythatpossiblythis—er—this,er,SCHEMEofyours,this—er—TRANSACTIONofyours,mayfailaltogethertoaccordwiththeCivilStatutesandProvisionsoftheRealm?”
AndManilov,withaslightgestureofthehead,lookedmeaninglyintoChichikov’sface,whiledisplayinginhiseveryfeature,includinghisclosely-compressedlips,suchanexpressionofprofundityasneverbeforewasseenonanyhumancountenance—unlessonthatofsomeparticularlysapientMinisterofStatewhoisdebatingsomeparticularlyabstruseproblem.
NeverthelessChichikovrejoinedthatthekindofschemeortransactionwhichhehadadumbratedinnowayclashedwiththeCivilStatutesandProvisionsofRussia;towhichheaddedthattheTreasurywouldevenBENEFITbytheenterprise,seeingitwoulddrawtherefromtheusuallegalpercentage.
“What,then,doyoupropose?”askedManilov.
“Iproposeonlywhatisabove-board,andnothingelse.”
“Then,thatbeingso,itisanothermatter,andIhavenothingtourgeagainstit,”saidManilov,apparentlyreassuredtothefull.
“Verywell,”remarkedChichikov.“Thenweneedonlytoagreeastotheprice.”
“Astotheprice?”beganManilov,andthenstopped.
