"Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. The Final Circle of Paradise (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

"Who needs Devon in a resort town?"
Oscar shrugged.
"It's hard for me to judge; I'm no chemist. But you will
agree that it's hard for us to comprehend the actions of our
fellow men, much less their fancies.... So Devon turns out to
be - What did you call it, a res...?"
"Repellent," I said.
"That would be for mosquitoes?"
"Not so much for as against."
"I can see you are quite well up on it," said Oscar.
"I had occasion to use it."
"Well, well."
What the devil, thought I. What is he getting at? He was
no longer staring at the wall He was looking me straight in the
eyes and smiling. But if he was going to say something, it was
already said.
He got up.
"I don't think I'll wait any longer," he pronounced. "It
looks like I'll have to drink another pledge. But I didn't come
here to drink, I came here to get well. Please tell Rimeyer
that I will call him again tonight. You won't forget?"
"No," I said, "I won't forget. If I tell him that Oscar
was in to see him, he will know whom I am talking about?"
"Yes, of course. It's my real name."
He bowed, and walked out at a deliberate pace,
ramrod-straight and somehow unnatural-looking. I dipped my hand
in the ashtray, found a butt without lipstick, and inhaled
several times. I didn't like the taste and put out the stub. I
didn't like Oscar, either. Nor Ilina. And especially Rimeyer -
I didn't like him at all. I pawed through the bottles, but they
were all empty.

Chapter FOUR

In the end I didn't wait long enough to see Rimeyer. Ilina
never came back. Finally I got tired of sitting in the smoky,
stale atmosphere of the room and went down to the lobby. I
intended to have dinner and stopped to look around for a
restaurant. A porter immediately materialized at my side.
"At your service," he murmured discreetly. "An auto? Bar?
Restaurant? Salon?"
"What kind of salon?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.
"A hair-styling salon." He looked at my hairdo with
delicate concern. "Master Gaoway is receiving today. I
recommend him most strenuously."
I recollected that Ilina had called me a disheveled perch
and said, "Well, all right."
"Please follow me," said the porter.
Crossing the lobby, he opened a wide low door and said
into the spacious interior, "Excuse me, Master, you have a