"Adams, Douglas - Dirk Gently 01 - Holistic Detective Agency" - читать интересную книгу автора (Adams Douglas)

that, but -- well, it was impossible to tell. Certainly his face was
heavily lined, and the small amount of hair that escaped from under his
red woollen skiing hat was thin, white, and had very much its own ideas
about how it wished to arrange itself. He too was muffled inside a
heavy coat, but over it he wore a billowing gown with very faded purple
trim, the badge of his unique and peculiar academic office.
As they walked the older man was doing all the talking. He was
pointing at items of interest along the way, despite the fact that it
was too dark to see any of them. The younger man was saying 'Ah yes,'
and 'Really? How interesting...' and 'Well, well, well,' and 'Good
heavens.' His head bobbed seriously.
They entered, not through the main entrance to the hall, but through
a small doorway on the east side of the court. This led to the Senior
Combination Room and a dark-panelled anteroom where the Fellows of the
college assembled to slap their hands and make 'brrrrrr' noises before
making their way through their own entrance to the High Table.
They were late and shook off their coats hurriedly. This was
complicated for the older man by the necessity first of taking off his
professorial gown, and then of putting it back on again once his coat
was off, then of stuffing his hat in his coat pocket, then of wondering
where he'd put his scarf, and then of realising that he hadn't brought
it, then of fishing in his coat pocket for his handkerchief, then of
fishing in his other coat pocket for his spectacles, and finally of
finding them quite unexpectedly wrapped in his scarf, which it turned
out he had brought after all but hadn't been wearing despite the damp
and bitter wind blowing in like a witch's breath from across the fens.
He bustled the younger man into the hall ahead of him and they took
the last two vacant seats at the High Table, braving a flurry of frowns
and raised eyebrows for interrupting the Latin grace to do so.
Hall was full tonight. It was always more popular with the
undergraduates in the colder months. More unusually, the hall was
candlelit, as it was now only on very few special occasions. Two long,
crowded tables stretched off into the glimmering darkness. By
candlelight, people's faces were more alive, the hushed sounds of their
voices, the clink of cutlery and glasses, seemed more exciting, and in
the dark recesses of the great hall, all the centuries for which it had
existed seemed present at once. High Table itself formed a crosspiece
at the top, and was raised about a foot above the rest. Since it was a
guest night, the table was set on both sides to accommodate the extra
numbers, and many diners therefore sat with their backs to the rest of
the hall.
'So, young MacDuff,' said the Professor once he was seated and
flapping his napkin open, 'pleasure to see you again, my dear fellow.
Glad you could come. No idea what all this is about,' he added, peering
round the hall in consternation. 'All the candles and silver and
business. Generally means a special dinner in honour of someone or
something no one can remember anything about except that it means
better food for a night.'
He paused and thought for a moment, and then said, 'It seems odd,
don't you think, that the quality of the food should vary inversely