"Henry Kuttner - This is the House UC" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kuttner Henry)

"I was thinking there might be a short somewhere," he suggested. "IЧuhЧgot a bit of a shock when I opened the thing yesterday."

Garr set down his glass. "Yeah? Let's see." He unscrewed the metal wall plate and blinked at what he saw. "Funny. I never saw a hook-up like that." Melton leaned forward. "That so?" "Hm-m-m. She's D.C., butЧsomebody screwed this up for you, Mr. Melton." "How?"



"Amateur electricians," Garr said scornfully. "What's this wire doing here? And this thingЧwhat is it, anyhow?"

"Plastic?"

"Part of a thermometer, maybe. 7 dunno. Hm-m-m." Garr wagged his head, made sparks fly with 'his screwdriver, and jerked a little. "I better throw the switch."

"I'll do it," Melton said. He went down into the cellar, studied a few fuse boxes, and located the master switch. He threw it to the "Off" position, yelling the news up to Garr. After a moment Garr yelped. Footsteps sounded on the stairs.

Garr, rubbing his hand, appeared. "You didn't throw the switch," he said reproachfully.

"Sure I did," Melton said. "Look."

"Oh. Yeah. Well, maybeЧ" He fumbled around. Presently he unscrewed some of the fuses. "You go up in the kitchen and lemme know when the refrigerator stops working. I plugged it in again."

Melton obeyed. ..Michaela came to watch. "Find anything?" she asked.

"I dunno," Melton said, listening to the low purr of the motor. "The previous tenant probably rewired the house."

"Who was he?" Michaela murmured. "Einstein? Or a Martian?"

"Probably a ham electrician who thought he knew more than he did."

Michaela stroked the sleek white enamel of the refrigerator. "Only two years old. It really hasn't been weaned yet, Bob. The wrong kind of juice might upset its digestion."

"If I had the variety of food inside me that that icebox has in its innards, I'd be screaming for soda bicarb," Melton said. "Hello, Mr. Garr. Fix it yet?"

Garr's withered brown face looked troubled. "She's still running, huh?" he remarked. "Never stopped once?"

"Not once."

"She ain't on any of those fuses, then. I'd have to tear down the wall to trace the circuit." He looked doubtfully at the wall socket.

"Listen," Melton said, "I've a pair of rubber gloves somewhere. Would they help?"

"Yep," Garr nodded. "Ill just finish my beer while you get 'em. Goes flat in a hurry, don't it?"

"Mike," Melton said, "replenish Mr. Garr's glass." He departed.

"Yep," Garr said. "Mm-m . . . Thanks, Miz Melton. You got a nice place here. I was telling your husband. Well built."

"It'll do, for a while. Later on I want to get a lot of new stuff in the kitchen. Those glass-fronted ovens and refrigeratorsЧyou know?"

Garr made a face. "I seen the ads. Ain't practical. Glass," he said plaintively, "what's the use of it? O.K. to let the sun in, maybe, butЧnuts, if you'll pardon the expression, Miz Melton."