"Arkady & Boris Strugatsky - The Ugly Swans" - читать интересную книгу автора (Strugatski Arkady)

Victor, past the sumptuous statues with their electric candelabra, and into the completely empty vestibule,
permeated with odors from the
12 The Ugly Swans

restaurant. Victor felt a familiar excitement. He anticipated the coming evening, when he would be able to
drink and shoot his mouth off irresponsibly and shove off onto tomorrow all of today's leftover irritations.
He looked forward to seeing Yul Golem and Dr. R. Quadriga. "And maybe I'll meet someone else, and
maybe something will happenтАФthere'll be a fight, or I'll get an idea for a story. Tonight I think I'll have
some mari-nated eel, and everything will be just fine, and I'll take the last bus to Diana's."
While Victor was getting his keys from the porter, a con-versation started behind his back. Bol-Kunats
was talking with the doorman.
"What the hell are you doing here," hissed the doorman, "hanging around restaurants?"
"I am having a conversation with Mr. Banev," said Bol-Ku-nats. "The restaurant does not interest me."
"As if a restaurant could interest you, you little punk. In one minute I'll send you packing."
Victor got his key and turned around. "Uh," he said. He had forgotten the doorman's name. "The young
fellow's with me, everything's okay."
The doorman didn't answer, but he was obviously annoyed.
They went up to his room. With great enjoyment, Victor threw off his raincoat and bent over to untie his
soggy shoes. The blood went to his head, and he felt painful, intermittent throbs coming from the vicinity of
his lump. The lump itself was heavy and round, like a leaden egg. He straightened out immediately and,
holding onto the doorjamb, pushed off one shoe with his other foot. Bol-Kunats stood next to him, drip-ping
wet.
"Take off your things," said Victor. "Hang everything on the radiator, I'll get you a towel."
"If you don't object, I'll make a phone call," said Bol-Kunats, not budging from the spot.
"Go to it." Victor kicked off his other shoe and went to the
The Ugly Swans 13

bathroom in his wet socks. Undressing, he could hear the boy talking quietly and calmly. He couldn't make
anything out. Only once, the boy said loudly and clearly, "I don't know." Victor rubbed himself dry and
threw on a robe. He found a clean bath towel and went back into the room.
"This is for you," he said and saw immediately that there was no need for it. As before, Bol-Kunats was
standing by the door, and as before he was dripping wet.
"Thank you," he said. "The truth is, I have to be going. There's just one more thing I'd like toтАФ"
"You'll come down with a cold," said Victor.
 "No, don't worry, thank you. I won't come down with a cold. There's just one more matter I'd like to
clarify with you. Irma hasn't told you anything?"
Victor threw the bath towel on the couch, squatted down in front of the liquor cabinet, and pulled out a
bottle and a glass.
"Irma has told me a lot of things," he answered rather sul-lenly. He poured some gin into the glass.
"She didn't pass on our invitation?"
"No. She didn't pass on any invitations. Here, have a drink."
"Thank you, I'd rather not. Since she didn't tell you, then I will. We would like to meet with you, Mr.
Banev."
"Who's 'we'?"
"The pupils of our school. The truth is, we have read your books and would like to ask you a few
questions."
"Hm," said Victor doubtfully. "You're sure that everybody would be interested in this?"
"I think so."
"I don't exactly write for middle-school students," Victor reminded him.
"That doesn't matter," said Bol-Kunats with gentle persis-tence. "Will you accept?"