Мертві душі
Chapter 6
Well,mylad,whatdoyouwant?”
Hepausedamomentortwo,butProshkamadenoreply.
“Come,come!”wentontheoldman.“Setoutthesamovar,andthengiveMavrathekeyofthestore-room—hereitis—andtellhertogetoutsomeloafsugarfortea.Here!Waitanothermoment,fool!Isthedevilinyourlegsthattheyitchsotobeoff?ListentowhatmoreIhavetotellyou.TellMavrathatthesugarontheoutsideoftheloafhasgonebad,sothatshemustscrapeitoffwithaknife,andNOTthrowawaythescrapings,butgivethemtothepoultry.Also,seethatyouyourselfdon’tgointothestoreroom,orIwillgiveyouabirchingthatyouwon’tcarefor.Yourappetiteisgoodenoughalready,butabetteronewon’thurtyou.Don’tevenTRYtogointothestoreroom,forIshallbewatchingyoufromthiswindow.”
“Yousee,”theoldmanaddedtoChichikov,“onecannevertrustthesefellows.”Presently,whenProshkaandthebootshaddeparted,hefelltogazingathisguestwithanequallydistrustfulair,sincecertainfeaturesinChichikov’sbenevolencenowstruckhimasalittleopentoquestion,andhehadbegintothinktohimself:“Afterall,thedevilonlyknowswhoheis—whetherabraggart,likemostofthesespendthrifts,orafellowwhoislyingmerelyinordertogetsometeaoutofme.”Finally,hiscircumspection,combinedwithadesiretotesthisguest,ledhimtoremarkthatitmightbewelltocompletethetransactionIMMEDIATELY,sincehehadnotovermuchconfidenceinhumanity,seeingthatamanmightbealiveto-dayanddeadto-morrow.
