"That amusing child can make life pretty difficult," Olga said. "A boy by the name of Timur has been hanging around her.
He's in with that hoodlum Kvakin.
I simply can't seem to keep him away from our house."
"Timur?
Hm-hm," George coughed in embarrassment. "Mean to say he's in that gang?
I don't believe he's one of those . . . not likely ... oh well!
Don't you worry. I'll see he leaves your house alone.
Olya, why don't you study music?
What's an engineer, anyway?
I'm an engineer myself and look at me!"
"Aren't you a good engineer?"
"Good enough," replied George, moving closer to Olga and starting to tinker with the hub of the front wheel. "I'm not at all a bad engineer, but you play and sing so well."
"Look here, George," murmured Olga. She moved away in confusion. "I don't know what sort of engineer you are, but you certainly go about repairing your machine in a very odd way."
Olga gestured in imitation of his aimless tapping at the plugs and the outside of the engine with his monkey wrench.
"Nothing odd about it at all.
Everything's being done in the proper way." He jumped to his feet and gave the frame a couple of taps with the monkey wrench. "There you are, the job's finished.
Olga, is your father an Army officer?"
"Yes."
"That's fine.
I'm one too."
"There's no making you out!" Olga shrugged her shoulders. "First you're an engineer, then an actor and now an Army officer.
Perhaps you're a flyer as well?"
"No," laughed George. "Flyers dump bombs onto people's heads from above, but we strike through iron and through reinforced concrete—straight to the heart."
Again the rye fields, woods and river whirled past.
Soon they came to Olga's house.
At the sound of the motorcycle Jenny came skipping out onto the porch.
She blushed when she saw George, but after he had driven off she went up to Olga, hugged her and said enviously:
"Ooh, how lucky you are today, Olga!"
At the chapel, the boys had gone off after arranging to meet again later near the garden of No. 24.
Only Figure remained behind.
He was perplexed and angered by the silence inside the chapel.
The captives neither yelled, nor pounded on the door, nor responded to his taunts and questions.
He then tried a ruse.
Opening the outer door, he entered the stone-walled vestibule and held his breath.
While he was standing there with his ear glued to the keyhole, the outer door suddenly closed with a bang, as though someone had hit it with a log.
"Hey, who's there?" he demanded angrily, springing to the door. "Hey, cut out the tricks or I'll sock you one!"
No one replied.
He heard strange voices outside.
Then he heard the shutters creaking.
Someone began to talk to the captives through the bars of the window.
Then the boys inside the chapel burst out laughing.
The sound of that laughter made Figure feel uneasy.
At last the outside door was thrown open.
Timur, Simakov and Ladygin stood in the doorway.
"Open the second door!" Timur ordered without stirring from his place. "Open it yourself, if you don't want things happening to you!"
Figure reluctantly drew the bolt.
Nick and Geika came out of the chapel.
"Now take their place!" Timur ordered. "Get in, you swine, quick now!" he shouted, clenching his fists. "I've no time to waste talking to you."
Both doors were slammed to on Figure.
A heavy bolt was shot through the iron loops and a padlock fixed to it.