"Mikhail Bulgakov. The Fateful Eggs ("Роковые яйца")" - читать интересную книгу автора

the slightest surprise.
Then Persikov turned to the newcomer and said:
"I beg your pardon. I will obey. It's none of my business.
And of no interest to me."
The newcomer was not so much offended as taken aback.
"Excuse me," he began, "but comrade..."
"Why do you keep saying comrade all the time," Persikov muttered, then
fell silent.
"Well, I never," was written all over Feight's face.
"Pard..." "Alright then, here you are," Persikov interrupted him.
"See this arc lamp. From this you obtain by moving the eyepiece,"
Persikov clicked the lid of the chamber, like a camera, "a beam which you
can collect by moving the lenses, number 1 here... and the mirror, number
2." Persikov put the ray out, then lit it again on the floor of the asbestos
chamber. "And on the floor you can put anything you like and experiment with
it. Extremely simple, is it not?"
Persikov intended to express irony and contempt, but the newcomer was
peering hard at the chamber with shining eyes and did not notice them.
"Only I warn you," Persikov went on. "You must not put your hands in
the ray, because from my observations it causes growths of the epithelium.
And whether they are malignant or not, I unfortunately have not yet had time
to establish."
Hereupon the newcomer quickly put his hands behind his back, dropping
his leather cap, and looked at the Professor's hands. They were stained with
iodine, and the right hand was bandaged at the wrist.
"But what about you, Professor?"
"You can buy rubber gloves at Schwabe's on Kuznetsky," the Professor
replied irritably. "I'm not obliged to worry about that"
At this point Persikov stared hard at the newcomer as if through a
microscope.
"Where are you from? And why have you..."
Feight took offence at last.
"Pard..."
"But a person should know what he's doing! Why have you latched on to
this ray?"
"Because it's a matter of the greatest importance..."
"Hm. The greatest importance? In that case... Pankrat!"
And when Pankrat appeared:
"Wait a minute, I must think." " Pankrat dutifully disappeared again.
"There's one thing I can't understand," said Persikov. "Why the need
for all this speed and secrecy?"
"You've got me all muddled up. Professor," Feight replied. "You know
there's not a single chicken left in the whole country."
"Well, what of it?" Persikov howled. "Surely you're not going to try
and resurrect them all at the drop of a hat, are you? And why do you need
this ray which hasn't been properly studied yet?"
"Comrade Professor," Feight replied, "you've got me all muddled, honest
you have. I'm telling you that we must put poultry-keeping back on its feet
again, because they're writing all sorts of rotten things about us abroad.
Yes."