"C M Kornbluth - Virginia" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kornbluth C M)

Bunny took off his sunglasses. "I am?" he asked uncertainly. "Surely not. There's this trust thing he was
always talking about to pay me twenty thousand a yearтАФ"



'Talked," said Gonfalonieri. "That's all he did. He never got it on paper. You're the sole heir to the liquid
equivalent of, say, three and a half billion dollars."



Ohara hastily refilled the cup with laced coffee and put it in Bunny's hand.



"So," little Mr. Witz said softly, "there are certain things you must know. Certain rules that have sprung
up which We observe." The capitalized plural pronoun was definitely sounded. Whether it was to be
taken as royal, editorial, or theological, who can say? They proceeded to brief Bunny.



Firstly, he must never admit that he was wealthy. He might use the phrase "what little I have,"
accompanied by a whimsical shrug.



Secondly, he must never, under any circumstances, at any time, give anything to anybody. Whenever
asked for anything he was to intimate that this one request he simply could not grant, that it was the one
crushing straw atop his terrible burden of charitable contributions.



Thirdly; whenever offered anythingтАФfrom a cigar to a million-dollar market tip from a climberтАФhe must
take it without thanks and complain bitterly that the gift was not hand-wmer.



Fourthly, he must look on Touching Capital as morally equivalent to coprophagia, but he must not
attempt to sting himself by living on the interest of his interest; that was only for New Englanders.



Fifthly, when he married he must choose his bride from one of Us.



"You mean, one of you four gentlemen?" Bunny asked.



He thought of J.G.'s eldest daughter and repressed a shudder.