dead souls, imperial envoy

Chapter 10 Dead Souls (10)
Chichikov thanked him for his kindness, but flatly rejected the business offer of the gray stallion and the pale sorrel stallion. "Then buy some dogs. The two dogs I sold you will make people tremble with fear! There are beards on their mouths, and the long hair on their bodies stands up like bristles. The ribs are as thick as small buckets." It's like, it's unbelievable that the claws can be curled up into a ball, and they don't get dirt when they run!"

"But what would I want a dog for? I don't hunt."

"I want you to have some dogs. Listen, if you don't want a dog, buy my hurdy-gurdy. It's a great cocked organ. I'll tell you the truth. Fifteen hundred rubles, I'll give you nine hundred."

"What do I want a hurdy-gurdy for? I'm not German, and I like to beg for money with it on my back."

"That's not the kind of hand organ that the Germans carry. It's an organ. You have to take a good look at it: it's all made of mahogany. I'll take you to see it again!" Nozdryov said, scratching took Chichikov's hand and led him into another room.Although Chichikov kept his feet on the floor and kept saying that he had seen the organ carefully, he was still pulled over to hear how Marbrugg went to war. "If you won't pay in cash, here's what we'll do: I'll give you the harp organ and all my dead serfs, and you'll give me the carriage, plus three hundred rubles in cash."

"You're crazy again, how are you going to let me go on the road?"

"I'll get you another nice car. Come on, let's go to the warehouse and I'll show you! Just repaint it, and it'll be a damn fine car."

"He is really haunted by the devil's dream!" Chichikov thought to himself, and he made up his mind to abandon all the carriages, organ and all kinds of dogs, no matter how inconceivable the ribs of these dogs were as thick as small barrels. , the paws curled up into a ball, it sounds real.

"The carriage, the hurdy-gurdy, and the dead serf are all yours!"

"I don't want to do it," Chichikov said firmly.

"Why not!"

"I just don't want that."

"You are a real person! I understand that I can't get along with you like a good friend or a good partner!...Now it seems that you are a dishonest and cunning fritter!"

"Why, do you think I'm a fool? Think about it for yourself: why should I buy something useless?"

"Hey, don't talk. Now I've got you right. What a villain you are! Now listen to me, let's play a game of cards. I'll bet the dead serf on the bank, and the hurdy-gurdy Put it on."

"Well, it's decided by playing cards. It's not easy to say whether you win or lose." Chichikov said, glancing at the cards in his hand.He felt that the two decks of cards seemed to have been tampered with, and the suits on the back of the cards made him suspicious.

"What's so hard about it?" said Nozdryov. "It's not hard at all! If you're lucky, you can get good things. Look at this card! What luck!" he said, While playing cards to arouse the interest of the guests, "What luck! Look, good luck is here! Hey, this damn nine o'clock, I lost all my money on it last time! I felt it was it at the time He would come to cheat me, but I closed my eyes and thought: 'Go to your ghost, just fuck me, you nasty boy!'"

While Nozdryov was talking, Porfiry brought a bottle of wine.But Chichikov insisted that he neither wanted to play nor to drink anymore. "Why don't you want to play?" Nozdryov asked.

"Just don't want to play. And to be honest, I never liked poker."

"Why do you never like to play?"

Chichikov shook his head and said, "Because I never liked to play."

"That's a worthless idiot!"

"What can I do about it? I was born that way."

"What a waste! I thought you were a respectable person, but you are too stupid to talk to you... You and Sobakevich are the same, you are an idiot!"

"Why are you scolding me? Is it a sin for me not to play cards? Since you can't let it go for a small profit, then sell the dead serf to me."

"Don't even think about your fart! I wanted to give it to you, but now you give me three kingdoms, and I won't give it to you. You liar, dirty furnace builder! No more dealings with you from now on. Pol Phil, go and tell the groom to give his horses no oats, but hay."

This result was beyond Chichikov's imagination. "I don't want to see you again!" said Nozdryov.Despite the quarrel, the host and guest had dinner together. This time there were no famous wines with strange names on the table, but only a bottle of Cypriot wine, which people called sour water.After dinner, Nozdryov took Chichikov into a side room, where a bed was prepared for him, and said: "This is your bed! I don't bother to say good night to you!"

After Nozdryov left, Chichikov was in a bad mood.He complained that he and Nozdryov were wasting their time.Of course, what he regrets the most is that he talked to Nozdryov like a stupid boy about the business to be done: Nozdryov should not be trusted at all; who knows what Nozdryov will add to nonsense . "What a fool I am!" he scolded himself.He didn't sleep well that night.Some small insects came and bit him, and made him very miserable, and when they scratched him, he said: "To hell with Nozdryov!" He woke up early in the morning, put on his pajamas and boots, Go to the stables and order Shelifan to harness the cart.On his return, he met Nozdryov, also in pajamas, in the yard.Nozdryov asked him kindly how his sleep was with his pipe in his mouth.Chichikov said coldly: "It's not bad."

"But me, brother," said Nozdryov, "slept so badly that I can't even talk about it, and a swarm of worms made me sick, and my mouth tasted like I'd been in a cavalry company. I dreamed Whipped, really! Guess who beat me? It's hard to imagine: Captain Potseluyev and Kuvshinnikov."

"Well," thought Chichikov, "it would be nice if someone beat you."

"Really! It hurts! I woke up and saw, damn it, something was biting me, maybe it was a ghost flea. Well, you go and get dressed first, and I will go to you right away. The butler is an idiot, I have to Go and scold the butler for that idiot first."

When Chichikov finished washing and walked to the dining room, the tea set and a bottle of rum had already been placed on the table.The remnants of yesterday's lunch and dinner in the dining room are still in sight. It seems that the mop has never been here at all.There were crumbs all over the floor and cigarette ashes were visible on the tablecloth.The master himself followed into the dining room indifferently, wearing nothing under his pajamas, exposing his hairy chest.He held a long pipe in his hand and drank tea.Some painters do not like to paint gentlemen with shiny and curly hair like the ones on the barber shop signboard, nor do they like to paint gentlemen with short-cropped hair, so Nozdryov is the best object for him.

"Hey, what do you think?" Nozdryov said after a moment of silence, "Don't you want to play a few dead serf cards?"

"I've told you, man, I don't want to play poker. Buy it, I can buy it."

"I don't want to sell me, it's not enough to be a friend. I don't want to make money off that damn thing. Playing cards is another matter. Just play!"

"No play, I think I've already said that."

"Then do you want to change?"

"I don't want to exchange."

"Then let's play a game of chess; if you win the dead serfs, you get them. I have a lot of dead serfs waiting to be eliminated. Here, Porfiry, bring the chess."

"Don't waste your time, I don't play chess."

"It's not the same as playing cards. It can't rely on luck, nor can it play tricks, it's all about skill. I have to tell you first, I can't play at all, and you have to give me a few moves."

Chichikov thought to himself: "It's good to play chess with him! I can play chess well, and it's not easy to cheat in chess."

"Well, the game is won or lost," Chichikov said.

"A dead serf for a hundred rubles."

"Why? Fifty rubles are enough."

"No, what's fifty rubles at stake? I think it's still a hundred rubles, and I'll add a medium dog or a gold seal on a watch-chain."

"Very well!" said Chichikov.

"How many steps do you want me to take?" Chizdryov asked.

"And why? You can't give up one step."

"At least give in two steps."

"It's not good, I'm not playing well."

"We know you are not playing well!" said Nozdryov, making a move.

"It's been a long time since I touched a chess piece!" said Chichikov, who also moved a chess piece.

"We know how badly you play!" Nozdryov said, making a move, and taking another move with his sleeve.

"I haven't touched it in my hands for a long time! . . . Oh, oh, brother! What's the matter with you? Send it back!" said Chichikov.

"Send what back?"

"That chess piece." Chichikov said, and at the same time saw under his nose another chess piece that was about to turn from a pawn into a queen and enter the royal city.As for where this pawn came from, probably only God knows. "That's impossible," said Chichikov, rising from the table, "it's impossible to play with you. How can there be such a move: three pieces at a time!"

"How could there be three chess pieces moving together? This must be a mistake. I must have accidentally touched it, and I moved it back. Look."

"What about the other pawn?"

"which one?"

"This one, this one who is about to become a queen!"

"That's weird, why don't I remember it!"

"No, man, I've counted all my steps and remembered them all. You just brought it here, where it should be!"

"Where is what?" said Nozdryov, blushing. "You, brother, I see, you can make things up!"

"No, man, you can make it up, but it's not very successful, and everyone can see it."

"What do you think of me?" said Nozdryov. "Do I play tricks on the money?"

"I don't see you as anyone, but I will never play chess with you again."

"No, you can't keep us from going on," Nozdryov cried, "It's already started!"

"I have the right to refuse to go down, because you are dishonest and don't look like a decent person."

"No, you're talking nonsense, you can't talk like that!"

"No, man, it's you talking nonsense!"

"I didn't cheat, you have to go on, you have to finish this game of chess!"

"You can't force me to do this," said Chichikov solemnly, going up to the chessboard and messing up the pieces.Nozdryov became anxious and stuck to Chichikov, forcing Chichikov to take two steps back. "I tell you to keep playing! You messed up the pieces, it's nothing, I remember all the positions. Let's put the pieces back as they are."

"No, buddy, it's over, I won't play with you anymore."

"Then you don't want to play chess anymore?"

"You understand yourself, there is no way to play chess with you."

"No, tell me directly, do you want to play?" Nozdryov said, getting closer.

"I don't want to go down!" Chichikov said, raising his hands closer to his face just in case, because the situation was indeed very intense.This precaution was all too timely, since Nozdryov has indeed waved his hand... It is probable that half of our hero's plump, lovely face will be covered with indelible shame!Fortunately the blow was blocked by his precautions, and Chichikov took Nozdryov's defiant hands and squeezed them tightly.

"Porfiry, Pavrushka!" Nozdryov yelled violently, struggling with his hands.Chichikov heard him call, and in order not to expose the seductive spectacle to the servants, and feeling that it was useless to hold Nozdryov's hand, he dropped his hand.At this moment Porfiry came in, followed by Pavlushka.Pavlushka was a strong young man, and it was impossible to get cheap deals with him.

"Then you still don't want to finish the game?" Nozdryov asked. "You'd better answer me straight!"

"This game of chess can't be finished." Chichikov said, looking out the window.He saw that his carriage was already harnessed, as if Selifan would drive it at a gesture from him, but he could not get out of the house: at the door were two sturdy peasants.

"So, you don't want to finish the game?" Nozdryov asked again.His face was as red as fire.

"I could have done it if you'd played like a respectable man, and honestly. But I can't now."

"Okay! You can't play, you wretch! You can't play when you see that you can't win! Hit him!" he shouted to Porfiry and Pavlushka, holding Grab the cherrywood long pipe too.Chichikov turned pale with fright.He wanted to say something, but he only felt his lips move, but no sound came out.Nozdryov yelled: "Beat him!" and charged forward with a long cherry wood pipe, he was hot and sweaty, as if he was attacking a city fortress. "Hit him!" he yelled, sounding like a fearless lieutenant yelling "Come, brothers!" Li Wan, so the boss always specially issued an order to tie his hands at critical moments.But at this time the lieutenant was so eager to join the battle, his head was hot, as if seeing Generalissimo Suvorov galloping in front of him, he struggled to rush forward and make contributions. "Brothers, go!" He yelled loudly, never thinking that this would destroy the entire attack plan, never thinking that there were already countless muzzles lining up on the unattainable city wall and aiming at him together, never thinking that he A platoon of flesh and blood would splatter and disappear in a cloud of ashes, without thinking that a deadly bullet was whistling towards him, ready to fall into his yelling throat.

However, if Nozdryov is like a lieutenant who rushes to the wall of the fortress and prepares to lead his men to die, then the fortress he is about to capture cannot be said to be impregnable.Now, the fortress is scared out of its wits.The chair in his hand that was used as a city wall had already been seized by two serfs. He closed his eyes and was about to catch him without a fight and taste the taste of his master's long pipe. After all, who knows what will happen, but God graciously spared our hero's back, arms, shoulders, and other well-bred parts.The sound of bells and rattling cars seemed to come from beyond the sky. A three-set carriage stopped at the door, and even the heavy snorting and breathing of the hot-running horse could be heard in the house.Everyone looked out the window involuntarily: a man with a beard and a military jacket got out of the car.He inquired a few words in the hall, and then broke in. At this time, Chichikov was still in shock, and was in the most pitiful situation that a mortal could hardly encounter. "Excuse me, who is Mr. Nozdryov here?" After the stranger asked, he looked at Nozdryov who was standing there with a cigarette pouch in his hand, and then at Nozdryov who had just recovered from his embarrassment. Chichikov: The person who came here obviously hasn't figured it out yet.

"May I ask first, with whom have I had the honor of talking?" Nozdryov said, taking a step forward.

"I am the county sheriff."

"What are you doing?"

"I have been ordered to give you a notice: you have been charged, and you need to come back with me until your case is concluded."

"What nonsense, what case?" Nozdryov asked.

"The case against you is that you beat the landowner Maximov with a whip while intoxicated, and caused him personal insult."

"Nonsense! I have never seen the landowner Maximov!"

"My lord! Allow me to explain to you: I am an officer. You can speak like that to your servant, but never to me!"

Chichikov was no longer interested in hearing Nozdryov's answer. He hurriedly picked up his hat, walked behind the sheriff to the gate, jumped into the carriage, and ordered Serivan to whip his horse and gallop as hard as he could.

Complaints after five sweets

Our hero is truly terrified.Although the speeding carriage left Nozdryov's village behind and covered countless fields, hills and mountains, he still looked back nervously from time to time to see if anyone was chasing him. pull back.He was so nervous that it was difficult to breathe; he put his hand on his heart, and he felt as if there was a quail that kept jumping inside.

"Oh, this guy is so vicious! He's going to kill me!" He began to curse Nozdryov viciously, and uttered some uncivilized and elegant words.Is there any way?The Russians who are burning with anger.And what happened just now was no child's play.He murmured: "Anyway, if the county police officer doesn't arrive in time, I may never be able to miss this world created by God anymore! I will burst and disappear like a bubble at the bottom of the water, leaving no descendants, and no children." Leave a family property and an impeccable reputation to future generations!" Our gentleman is very concerned about his children.At this time, Xie Lifan was also thinking: "This master is really rare and immoral! I should spit on him! Even if you don't feed people, you have to feed the horses. Horses need oats. Oats are horses. Food: Just as people cannot live without food, how can horses live without oats, which are food for horses.”

(End of this chapter)