"Arthur Porges - The Devil and Simon Flagg" - читать интересную книгу автора (Porges Arthur)

The Devil and Simon Flagg
by Arthur Porges

The Devil is a great one for riddle games. Sometimes he will appear and, without even making a decent offer
for your soul, he will start asking you questions, and if you cannot answer them he will carry you off.

One of the earliest British ballads is "The False Knight on the Road," which is a question and-answer
dialogue that begins:

"0 where are you going?"
Quoth the false knight on the road.
"I'm going to the school,"
Quoth the wee boy, and still he stood.

Folk-lorists tell us that the false knight is the Devil, but the steadfast wee boy bests him. In many
Scandinavian and Baltic legends the Devil buys a soul, but agrees to let him off if he can answer certain
questions, for example, "How far is it from heaven to earth?" There are two answers given to that one, "You
ought to know, for you fell the distance," a reply which apparently satisfies the Devil, and the other, "One
step, for my grandfather has one foot in the grave and one in heaven."

Another situation is the converse of this: the mortal is let off if he can ask the Devil a question he cannot
answer, or set him a task he cannot perform.

After several months of the most arduous research, involving the study of countless faded manuscripts,
Simon Flagg succeeded - in summoning the devil. As a competent medievalist, his wife had proved
invaluable. A mere mathematician himself, he was hardly equipped to decipher Latin holographs, particularly
when complicated by rare terms from tenth-century demonology, so it was fortunate that she had a flair for
such documents.

The preliminary skirmishing over, Simon and the devil settled down to bargain in earnest. The devil was sulky,
for Simon had scornfully declined several of his most dependable gambits, easily spotting the deadly barb
concealed in each tempting bait.

"Suppose you listen to a proposition from me for a change," Simon suggested finally. "At least, it's a
straightforward one."

The devil irritably twirled his tail-tip with one hand, much as a man might toy with his key chain. Obviously, he
felt injured.

"All right," he agreed, in a grumpy voice. "It can't do any harm. Let's hear your proposal."

"I will pose a certain question," Simon began, and the devil brightened, "to be answered within twenty-four
hours. If you cannot do so, you must pay me $I00,000. That's a modest request compared to most you get.
No billions, no Helen of Troy on a tiger skin. Naturally there must be no reprisals of any kind if I win."

"Indeed!" the devil snorted. "And what are your stakes?"

"If I lose, I will be your slave for any short period. No torment, no loss of soul - not for a mere $I00,000.
Neither will I harm relatives or friends. Although," he amended thoughtfully, "there are exceptions."