Viy — Страница 15

When Khoma came in together with the old
Cossack, he took away one of his hands and nodded slighdy to their low bow.
Khoma and the Cossack stopped respectfully by the door.
"Who are you, and where from, and of what estate, good man?" the chief
said, neither kindly nor sternly.
"I'm the philosopher Khoma Brut, a student."
"And who was your father?"
"I don't know, noble sir."
"And your mother?"
"I don't know my mother, either. Reasonably considering, of course,
chere was a mother; but who she was, and where from, and when she lived--by
God, your honor, I don't know."
The chiet paused and seemed to sit pondering for a moment.
"And how did you become acquainted with my daughter?"
"I didn't become acquainted, noble sir, by God, I didn't. I've never
had any dealings with young ladies in all my born days. Deuce take them, not
to say something improper."
"Then why was it none other than you, precisely, that she appointed to
read?"
The philosopher shrugged his shoulders:
"God knows how to explain that. It's a known fact that masters
sometimes want something that even the most literate man can't figure out.
And as the saying goes: 'Hop faster, mind the master!'"
"And you wouldn't happen to be lying, mister philosopher?"
"May lightning strike me right here if I'm lying."
"If you'd lived only one litde minute longer," the chief said sadly,
"I'd surely have learned everything. 'Don't let anybody read over me, daddy,
but send to the Kiev seminary at once and bring the student Khoma Brut. Let
him pray three nights for my sinful soul. He knows . . .' But what he knows,
I didn't hear. She, dear soul, could only say that, and then she died.
Surely, good man, you
must be known for your holy life and God-pleasing deeds, and maybe she
heard about you."
"Who, me?" the student said, stepping back in amazement, "Me, a holy
life?" he said, looking the chief straight in the eye, "God help you, sir!
Indecent though it is to say, I went calling on the baker's wife on Holy
Thursday itself."
"Well. . . surely you were appointed for some reason. You'll have to
start the business this same day."
"To that, your honor, I'd reply ... of course, anybody versed in Holy
Scripture could commensurably . . . only here it would call for a deacon, or
at least a subdeacon. They're smart folk and know how it's done, while I ...
And I haven't got die voice for it, and myself I'm--devi! knows what.
Nothing to look at."
"That's all very well, only I'll do everything my little dove told me
to do, I won't leave anything out. And once you've prayed over her properly
for three nights, starting today, I'll reward you. Otherwise--I wouldn't
advise even (he devil himself to make me angry.