"Braun, Lilian Jackson - The Cat Who 009 - The Cat Who Went Underground" - читать интересную книгу автора (Braun Lillian Jackson)

"Good morning!" chirruped a woman's pleasant voice.

"Mildred, this is Qwill," he said abruptly. "I'm at the cabin. I just drove up with the cats to spend the summer."

"That's ducky!" she said. "You can come to the beach party tomorrow night."

"Forget parties," he snapped. "There's something wrong with the blasted heater!

The cabin's like a subterranean cave! What do I do? Is there someone I can call?"

"Perhaps the pilot light's out," she said helpfully. "Did you look to see if the pilot light's out?"

"I don't even know where it is or what it looks like."

"There should be a little access door on the front-"

Qwilleran sneezed. "Just tell me who repairs these things, Mildred. I'm on the verge of double pneumonia."

"Are you on Glinko's list?" she asked.

He was losing patience. "Glinko! Who's Glinko?"

"Didn't anybody tell you about Glinko? You can call him any hour of the day or night, and he'll send a plumber, electrician, or any kind of repairman you need.

It's a wonderful convenience for-"

"Okay, what's his number?" he cut in, shivering and stamping his feet.

"Not so fast, Qwill. First you have to go to his shop, sign up, pay a fee, and give him a key to your cabin."

"I don't like the idea of handing out keys indiscriminately," he said with irritation.

"People around here are perfectly honest," she said with a note of gentle reproach. "You've lived Down Below too long. You suspect everyone."

Thanking her briefly, Qwilleran dashed out to the car and dropped the cats into their travel coop again. "Sorry. You're going for another ride," he announced.

They headed for downtown Mooseville, three miles to the west, where the Huggins Hardware Store made duplicate keys.

The proprietor said, "Spending the summer up here, Mr. Q?"

"Only if I can get the chill out of the cabin, Cecil. Where can I find a repairman for a wall-heater?"

"Glinko's got "em all tied up," said the storekeeper. "See Glinko."

Mildred had said that Glinko's place of business was right behind the post office, and Qwilleran found only one building in that location: a garage-a greasy, shabby garage with a large door standing open. There was a car inside, with its hood raised. Under the hood a pair of spindly legs in old ragged trousers could be seen waving aimlessly, while the torso was buried among the valves, spark plugs, and cylinders. There was no visible head.

"Excuse me," Qwilleran said to the waving feet. "Where-can I find Glinko?"

The torso reared up, and the head came into view-a face almost obscured by a wild set of whiskers, a rat's nest of hair under a greasy beret, and a pair of bright, merry eyes. The gnomelike character slid across the fender and landed nimbly on the concrete floor. "Standin" right here," he said with a toothless grin. "Who be you?"