"Anatoly Rybakov. The dirk (Кортик, англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

Grandmother and Uncle Senya. For him-Grandfather and Polevoy. But what if
Polevoy was not at home? That would leave only Grandfather. And what if
Grandfather was sleeping? That would leave no one to stand up for him, and
give Grand mother and Uncle Senya a free hand. They would take it in turn
lecture him. Uncle Senya would lecture and Grandmother would rest, and then
Grandmother would take over and Uncle Senya would rest.
There was hardly anything they would leave unsaid! They would call him
bad-mannered, say he would never amount to anything; that he was a disgrace
to the family; that he was a trial to his mother and that if he had not yet
driven her to her grave he would do so in the next few days (he felt sure
they would say that, even though Mother was living in Moscow and he had not
seen her for two months); that it was amazing how the earth held him at
all-and many other things like that....
When they came home Misha put the basket in the kitchen and went to the
dining-room. Grandfather was sitting near the window listening to Uncle
Senya discussing the political situation, as he reclined on the sofa and
smoked a cigarette. They did not even so much as glance at Misha when he
entered. That was on purpose! To make Misha feel small, to show that looking
at him was a waste of time. That was Uncle Senya's way of torturing people.
As far as Misha was concerned he could do as he liked, it was even better
that way, because by the time Uncle Senya was ready to deliver his lecture
Polevoy would come home. Misha sat on a chair and listened to their
conversation.
A few words were enough to tell him that Uncle Senya was raising a
panic again. Bandit Makhno had occupied a number of towns, he said, and
Antonov, another bandit, had approached the outskirts of Tambov. Fancy
getting panicky over that! Last year, when the White Poles had occupied Kiev
and Wrangel had broken through into the Donbas, Uncle Senya had also started
to panic. Well, what had happened then? The Red Army had crushed the lot.
Before that there had been Denikin, Kolchak, Yudenich ( Whiteguard generals
who led the counter-revolution in the U.S.S.R. during the Civil War.-Ed.),
and other Whiteguard generals. The Red Army had smashed them all. And it
would lick these, too. .
From Makhno and Antonov, Uncle Senya turned to Nikitsky.
"You can't call him a bandit," Uncle Senya said, unbuttoning the collar
of his student jacket. "Moreover, they say he's a man of culture, a former
naval officer."
What? Nikitsky not a bandit? Misha almost choked with indignation. Why,
Nikitsky was burning down villages and killing Communists, member of the
Komsomol, (All-Union Lenin Young Communist League.-Tr.) and workers! What
was bandit then? It was disgusting to listen to Uncle Senya's prattle.
Polevoy finally came. Misha sighed with relief. Now his punishment
would be put off till to-morrow, at the earliest.
Polevoy took off his jacket and washed. Then everyone sat down to
supper. His laughter filled the room. He called Grandfather-father and
Grandmother-mother; he winked playfully at Misha and addressed him as
Mikhail Grigoryevich. After supper they went out of the house and sat on the
porch steps.
The evening brought a fresh coolness into the garden; some girls were
singing in the distance and snatches of their songs reached the porch; the