hunter notes

Chapter 54 The end of Qiertophanov (2)
Tsertopkhanov yelled, whipped the horse's neck, and went straight to the crowd.After he squeezed into the crowd, he beat the peasants indiscriminately with a whip, and at the same time shouted intermittently: "Rampage... illegal! Rampant... no... law! It should be dealt with by law, how can it be selfish... selfish ...Punishment! Law! Law! Law...law!!!"

Within 2 minutes, the group of people dispersed in all directions. On the ground in front of the hotel, a thin, dark-skinned human body appeared, wearing a homespun coat, with disheveled hair and tattered clothes... His face was pale and his eyes were upward. Flip, mouth open... what's going on?Scared out of my wits, or dead?

"Why did you kill the Jew?" cried Tsartopkhanov, threateningly waving his whip.

The crowd answered him in a faint muffled voice.The farmers touched their arms, their waists, and their noses.

"It was so powerful!" someone said from behind. "What's so hard about swinging a whip!" said another voice. "Why did you kill the Jew? I'll ask you savages!" Tsertopkhanov asked again.And at this moment the man lying on the ground sprang up swiftly, ran behind Chertopkhanov, and tremblingly grabbed the edge of his saddle.The crowd laughed in unison.

"It's really invincible!" Someone said later, "Like a cat!"

"My lord, help me, help me!" murmured the unfortunate Jew, leaning his whole chest on Chertopkhanov's feet, "or they will kill me!"

"Why did they beat you?" Tsartopkhanov asked. "I really don't know why! They killed some livestock... They were suspicious... But I..." "Okay! Let's not talk about it now!" Tsartopkhanov interrupted him, "Now Grab the saddle and follow me. Hey, you!" He turned to the crowd again and said, "Do you know me? I am the landowner Pontely Chertopkhanov, and I live in the village of Bessonnov. If you want to sue me, you can sue whatever you want, and you can also sue this Jew!"

"Why charges?" said a dignified white-bearded farmer who looked like a patriarch, bowing deeply. (However, he did not miss a beat when he beat the Jews.) "Mr. Bontely Yeremitch, we know you very well; you have taught us a lesson, and we are very grateful to you!"

"Why sue?" continued the others. "As for the Antichrist, we have our own means! He cannot escape us! We deal with him as easily as we deal with rabbits in the field... Pokhanov raised his mustache, snorted, and led the Jew slowly back to his village on horseback. He rescued the Jew from his persecutors, just as he had rescued Tikhon Niedaubis. Like gold."

4
A few days later, the only remaining servant of Tsartopkhanov's family came to tell him that a man on horseback had come and wanted to have a word with him.Tsartopkhanov went up to the steps and recognized the Jew on a splendid Don horse, which stood quietly and proudly in the middle of the yard.The Jew wore no hat, which he carried under his armpits, his feet were not in the stirrups, but in the straps of the stirrups, and the tattered trains of his overcoat hung on either side of the saddle.As soon as he saw Chertopkhanov, he clicked his lips, twitched his elbows, and swayed his feet.But Tsartopkhanov not only did not return the salute, but became very angry and suddenly burst into flames.It's a disgrace that this vile Jew dared to ride such a fine horse. . .

"Hey, you're ugly!" he cried. "Get off your horse, if you don't want to be thrown into the mud!"

The Jew obeyed at once, rolled out of the saddle like a sack, lightly held the reins with one hand, and approached Chertopkhanov, smiling and bowing.

"What can I do for you?" asked Bontely Yeremitch solemnly.

"My lord, please take a look, is this horse okay?" said the Jew, bowing repeatedly.

"Um... well... it's a fine horse. How did you get it? Steal it?"

"How can it be, my lord! I am a decent Jew, I did not steal it, I really bought it for your lord! It took me a lot of trouble, a lot of trouble! This horse. There is only one such fine horse in the whole of the Don region. Look, my lord, what a horse! Please come here! Phew!... Phew!... The horse turns its head, turns sideways Come! Let us take the saddle off. Do you say so, my lord?"

"It's a fine horse," repeated Tsartopkhanov with affected indifference, though in fact he was delighted.He is a man who loves horses and can distinguish between good horses and bad horses.

"My lord, you can pet it! Touch its neck, hehehe! That's right."

Chertopkhanov, pretending to be reluctant, touched the horse's neck with his hand, patted it twice, and then ran his fingers from the protruding part of the neck along the back to a spot above the kidneys. Press lightly here like an insider.Immediately the horse arched its back, squinted sideways at Chertopkhanov with its proud black eyes, blew, and stamped.

The Jew laughed and clapped his hands softly. "It's asking for its owner, my lord, it's asking for its owner!" "Hey, nonsense," Tsartopkhanov interrupted sadly, "I'm going to buy you this horse... and I don't have any money. ; and as for gifts, not only have I not received gifts from the Jews, but I have not received gifts from God."

"How dare I give you something, don't think about it!" the Jew shouted, "Just buy it, my lord...you will pay later."

Chertopkhanov thought about it. "How much do you bid?" Finally he mumbled through his teeth.The Jew shrugged. "Just what I paid for it, 200 rubles."

The horse was worth twice—maybe three—that amount.Tshertopkhanov turned his face away and yawned excitedly. "Then when will ... pay?" he asked, frowning deliberately, not looking at the Jew. "You can see it anytime."

Tsartopkhanov threw back his head, but did not raise his eyes.

"It cannot be answered in this way. You must speak clearly, son of Irod! Do I want to accept your favor?"

"Well, then," said the Jew hastily, "in six months... shall we?"

Tsertopkhanov was silent.The Jew watched his eyes. "Well? Let me take the horse into the stable?"

"I don't want the saddle," said Tsartopkhanov in a broken voice, "take the saddle, do you hear me?"

"Okay, okay, I'll take it, I'll take it," said the Jew happily, and put the saddle on his shoulders. "As for the money," Chertopkhanov went on, "six more months. Not two hundred, but two hundred and fifty. You must not speak! Two hundred and fifty, I tell you! I owe you."

Tshertopkhanov never had the courage to lift his eyes.He had never suppressed his pride so much. "This is obviously a gift," he thought to himself, "this guy is paying back!" He wanted to hug the Jew at the same time, and at the same time wanted to hit him... "My lord," the Jew said with a smile, "it should be done in the same way as in Russia." custom. Bring this horse to your . . . "

"You can figure it out! Jews... what Russian customs! Hey! Who's there? Take the horse, take it to the stable, and pour him some oats. I'll see for myself right away. His name— Just call it Malek Ajel!"

Tsartopkhanov had just come up the steps when he came back suddenly, ran up to the Jew, and shook his hand firmly.The Jew bent down and was already puffing out his mouth to kiss his hand, but Tsartopkhanov jumped back, said in a low voice: "Don't tell anyone!" and went in.

5
From that day on Tsartopkhanov's chief concern, his chief concern, his chief pleasure, was in Malek Adel.He loved it more deeply than Emmasha; he was closer to it than Ned Daubiskin.What a horse!Fierce as fire, really like fire, just like gunpowder; but with a dignified attitude like an aristocrat!It is tireless, hardworking, and obeys wherever it is asked to go; it is also easy to feed, and if there is nothing else to eat, it will eat the mud under its feet.When it walks slowly, it seems to be as stable as holding you; when it walks fast, it seems to be shaking you in the cradle; when it is galloping, it is faster than the wind!It never pants because of the many pores.Its legs are like steel!Never stumbled!Jumping over ditches, jumping over fences, it doesn't matter, and he's still very smart!As soon as you call it, it raises its head and runs over immediately; when you tell it to stand, it walks away, but it also stands still; as soon as you come back, it neighs softly, as if to say: "I'm here Here." It fears nothing.In the darkest places, in the snowstorm, it can find its way; it can't tolerate strangers approaching, it will bite with its teeth!The dog can't go close to it, as soon as it gets close to it, it will kick its forehead with its front hoof, so that it can't survive!This is a self-respecting horse, the whip is just waving on its head as an ornament, don't touch it!But what is the need to say, after all, this is not only a horse but also a treasure!
Tsertopkhanov praised his own Malek Adel, and there was no end to it!He cares about it so much, loves it so much!Its fur is silvery—not old silvery, but new, with a dull luster; it feels like velvet when touched by hand!Saddles, saddle-beds, bridles--all the harness fit so neatly and crisply that it could be pictured!Tsertopkhanov loved it so much that he braided his horse's mane with his own hands, washed its mane and tail with beer, and even greased its hooves more than once... He often rode Malek Adel went out, but not to the neighbors—he never saw them—but through their fields, past their estates... Keep these fools away, he said. Enjoy my horse!Sometimes he heard of a hunt somewhere--a wealthy landowner going out to hunt in fields far from his estate--and he went there at once, and galloped over the horizon, and all who saw him admired the beauty and the beauty of his horse. Shensu was surprised, yet he wouldn't let anyone come near him.Once a hunter went after him with all his attendants, and when he saw that Chertopkhanov was avoiding him, he ran after him at full speed and called out to him: "Hey, listen to me! Take your Sell ​​me the horse for any price! I will not hesitate to pay thousands of rubles! I will give you my wife and children! Take all my property!"

Chertopkhanov suddenly strangled Malek Adel.The hunter ran quickly to him.

"Sir!" he cried, "say, what do you want? My dear father!" "Even if you are the emperor," said Tsartopkhanov calmly (in fact, he had never heard Shakespeare in his life), " You can exchange all your land for my horse, that’s not enough!" After that, he laughed loudly, pulled Malek Ajel up, let him land on his hind feet, spun around in the air like a top, and galloped away. go!All I could see was the horse galloping across the harvested field.The hunter (it is said to be a very rich duke) threw his hat on the ground, and poofed his face into the hat!Lie like this for half an hour.

How could Kirtopkhanov not spare his horse?Was it not due to this horse that he was able to reassert his apparent and final superiority over all his neighbors?
6
Time flies, and the time to pay back the money is approaching, but Chertopkhanov not only does not have 250 rubles, but he does not even have 50 rubles.What to do, what method to use to deal with it? "What does it matter!" Finally, he made up his mind, "If the Jew doesn't intercede and refuses to stay longer, I'll give him the house and land, and I'll go wandering on horseback! I'd rather starve to death than give up Malek Ajay Er!" He was so flustered that he even started to fantasize.But now fate—for the first and last time—had mercy on him, and helped him, and left him a sum in the will of a distant aunt, whose name Ertopkhanov did not even know. It seemed to him a small amount of money, a full 2000 rubles!And the time when he received the money was exactly at the so-called critical moment: the day before the arrival of the Jews.Chertopkhanov was almost mad with joy, but he did not think of schnapps.He hadn't had a drop of alcohol since the day he got Malek Ajel.He ran to the stable and kissed his friend on the sides, above the nostrils, where the horse's skin was so soft. "This way we'll be together forever!"

He spoke aloud, patting Malek Ajel on the neck beneath his neatly combed mane.When he got back to his room, he counted out 250 rubles and sealed it in a paper packet.Then he lay on his back, smoking a cigarette, and thinking about what to do with the rest of the money—in other words, what kind of dog he was going to buy.It must be an authentic Kostroma species, and it must be red-spotted!He even talked to Perfishka, promised him new Cossack tunics with yellow ribbons in each seam, and went to sleep happily.

He had an ominous dream in which he rode out to hunt, but instead of Malek Adel, he rode a strange animal shaped like a camel; a snow-white fox came running towards him. ...He wanted to swing the whip and send the dogs after him, but instead of a whip he held in his hand a bundle of bark.A fox ran before him, sticking out his tongue and teasing him.He jumped off his camel, stumbled, fell...and fell into the hands of a gendarme.The gendarme took him to the governor, and he saw that the governor was Yafu... Tsertopkhanov woke up.The room was dark, and the rooster had just crowed for the second time... There was the neighing of a horse in the distance.Tszrtopkhanov looked up... and there was another faint hiss.

"It's Malek Adel neighing!" he thought... "It's his neighing! But why is it so far away? My God! . . . It can't be true . . . "

Tsertopkhanov suddenly felt cold all over, got out of bed quickly, felt for his boots and clothes, put them on, grabbed the key to the stable from under his pillow, and ran quickly to the yard.

7
At the end of the yard is the stable, one of its walls looks out onto the field.Tsartopkhanov did not put the key in the lock at once—his hand trembled—he did not open the door at once... He held his breath and stood there for a while.There must always be some noise inside the door! "Malek! Malek!" he called in a low voice.There is no sound!Tsertopkhanov involuntarily turned the key, and the door opened easily... so it was not locked.He jumped over the threshold and called his horse again, this time by his full name: "Marek Adel!" But the faithful companion made no answer, and the only sound came from a mouse moving about in the haystack.Then Chertopkhanov rushed into one of the three stables where Malek Adel lived.It was dark all around, but he kept breaking into this trough room...it was empty, there was nothing, and Ertopkhanov was dizzy, as if a clock was buzzing in his head.He tried to say something, but only hissed noises, so he groped around, panting, knees bent, looking from trough to trough . The third trough, bumped into one wall, hit another wall, fell, turned a somersault, got up, and suddenly rushed out through the half-open door, ran to the yard...

(End of this chapter)