Читать книгу Classics fantasy – 5 - A. Belyaev - Страница 3

Professor Likorn, having turned from Italyansky Boulevard into the small street Pille-Vil, shortened a stride. After noise of the boulevard the silence of this small street struck hearing. It was the silence of the temple, is more right – pagan temples of the Golden Calf. There live millionaires. Gloomy multi-storey buildings with lattices at windows of the first floor unfriendly look at rare passersby.

– It seems, … here – Professor Likorn, worrying, pressed the button of an electric call which is put in order in a grin of the bronze lion’s head. The silent door-keeper slowly opened a door, let in professor the lobby filled with plants with the big, standing at an entrance bear and called upward.

On the wide ladder covered with a dark red carpet the servant went down. Likorn stretched it the business card.

– Mister de Troyes of the house? I would like to see it on private business.

– Mister de Troyes accepts on personal records on Thursday and Saturday of nine hours twenty minutes to ten o’clock in the morning. Today you can see only his secretary.

At this moment on a ladder Clotilda de Troyes in a gray coat and a silk hat with a white bird at a board seemed. Likorn bowed and stepped aside, passing it to an exit.

Clotilda de Troyes kindly answered bow. She recognized Likorn:

– Professor Likorn! You to the husband? It is absent. What brought you here? Whether history with a bird on my hat? You see, the bird sits in the place again. Means, everything is all right.

– I really came to talk to mister de Troyes concerning that unpleasant incident which took place…

– Well, talk to me. Eventually, not the husband, and I appeared as «victim». Means, all this history – my personal record. Professor goes with me.

The servant hasty approached Likorn and respectfully took off a coat.

Likorn hardly kept up with Clothilda who quickly walked upstairs.

– Our acquaintance was started quite originally, isn’t that so? – with the same kind smile Clothilda addressed Likorn when they took seat in a drawing room in easy chairs.

– Yes – he confusedly answered – it is original, though it is not absolutely pleasant both for you, and for me. The police made the protocol, and business will be brought to trial.

– What nonsenses. I will tell the husband, and everything will be settled. Also we will not tell more about vessels, protocols and police. One of these words cut to me hearing.

At Likorn went away from heart.

– I even am very happy – Clothilda continued – that this case delivered me interesting acquaintance. I read your books about the primitive person, and very much it are pleasant to me…

Likorn bowed. He did not expect in any way to meet here the venerator of the scientific works.

– Tell, professor, this young man who caught a bird on my hat whether the wild person is that whom you found in the Himalayas in your last expedition? All newspapers wrote about it, and I terribly wanted to look at this celebrity.

– Yes, it it. The wild person, or rather the white savage whom I found in the Himalayas, at the height of several thousand feet.

Clothilda made the bystry movement.

– As it is interesting…

– Really, this white savage is of extraordinary scientific interest. He is not just a savage. It is incidentally remained copy of absolutely disappeared human breed, the last representative of people who lived many tens of thousands years ago and who as I assume, were primogenitors of the European people.

– You named him Adam?

– This name was given it for fun, and then was assigned to it. Exclusively interesting copy. But … – professor Likorn sighed – if you knew how many he brought to me cares and troubles! At first I, certainly, could not release him from prison. He had to be trained as an animal. But he missed locked up. And when it «was a little civilized», I began to take it with myself on walk. It is attached to me and is obedient as a dog.

When I for the first time went with it to the Luxembourg garden, he literally went gaga over. And before I came round, he already climbed up a tree and cried for joy so that the walking children with crying in horror jumped aside aside. The watchman hardened from such sacrilege. Another time Adam rushed to the pool of the fountain of Carnot – he wanted to bathe. At the Place de la Concorde he climbed up a horse statue, having gathered around himself crowd of gapers…

Clothilda laughed. She listened to it with great interest.

– Once, when we came back with Adam on the carrier, to him bothered to go too slowly. Adam seized the carrier by a collar, put off from a trestle, one jump of villages astride a horse and rushed off at full speed.

Clothilda again loudly burst out laughing.

– You will not retell everything. And on my head protocols, penalties, trials pour. Shampollio-na Street where we live with it, was simply completely terrorized. At first the administration of Sorbonne disentangled me from a trouble, also the Ministry of Public Education sometimes came to the rescue. But eventually they were bothered by it. Fortunately, Adam considerably settled down. He already decently speaks French. I already rejoiced that with its wild tricks is through, and here the day before yesterday this unpleasant case with you…

– Let’s not speak about this case, dear professor. Tell better as you managed to tear off from native mountains of a biped young of wild animal and to transport to Paris.

– I prepare for printing my traveling diary. If you are interested, I can give you proof-sheets.

– Lovely professor, as I am grateful to you! Tomorrow send. – Clothilda fitfully got up and reaped both hands of Likorn.