'What a type', thought Nikolka.
Lariosik's miraculous appearance had driven the gloomy thoughts from his mind.
'There's eight thousand roubles here', said Lariosik, pushing the packet across the table, which from the color of the money looked like scrambled eggs with chopped chives. 'If there's not enough we'll count it again and I'll write home for some more.'
'No, no, that doesn't matter, later will do', replied Elena. 'I'm going to tell Anyuta right away to heat the water so you can have a bath.
But tell me - how did you come here? I don't understand how you managed to get through.' Elena began to roll the money into a bundle and stuff it into the huge pocket of her dressing-gown.
Lariosik's eyes filled with horror at the memory.
'It was a nightmare!' he exclaimed, clasping his hands like a Catholic at prayer. 'It took me nine days . . . no, sorry, was it ten? Just a moment. . . Sunday, yes, Monday . . . No, it took me eleven days travelling here from Zhitomir!'
'Eleven days!' cried Nikolka. 'You see?' he said reproachfully, for some reason, to Elena.
'Yes, eleven days.
When I left the train belonged to the Hetman's government, but on the way it was taken over by Petlyura's men.
One day we stopped at a station - what's it called now? Oh dear, I've forgotten . . . anyway, it doesn't matter . . . and there if you please, they wanted to shoot me.
These troops of Petlyura's appeared, wearing pigtails . . .'
'Blue ones?' Nikolka asked with curiosity.
'No, red . . . yes, red ones . . . and they shouted: "Get out!
We're going to shoot you on the spot!"
They had decided I was an officer, hiding in a hospital train.
And the only reason I had been able to get on that train was because Mama knew Doctor Kuritsky.'
'Kuritsky?' Nikolka exclaimed meaningfully. 'I see . . . our Ukrainian nationalist friend.
We know him.'
'Yes, that's him ... it was he who brought the train to us at Zhitomir . . .
God!
I started to pray, believe me.
I thought this was the end.
And d'you know what? The bird saved me.
I wasn't an officer, I said, I was an ornithologist, and I showed him the bird. I'm a bird-breeder, I said . . .
Well, one of them punched me on the back of the neck and said "All right, bird-man, you can go to hell for all I care!"
The insolence!
As a gentleman I ought to have killed him, but I could hardly . . . you understand . . .'
'Elena', came a weak voice from Alexei's bedroom.
Elena swung round and ran out without waiting to hear the rest of the story. #
On December 15th, according to the calendar, the sun sets at half past three in the afternoon, so by three o'clock twilight began to settle on the apartment.
But at that hour the hands on Elena's face were showing the most depressed and hopeless time on the human clock-face - half past five.
The hands of the clock were formed by two sad folds at the corners of her mouth which were drawn down towards her chin, whilst in her eyes, depression and resolution had begun their struggle against disaster.
Nikolka's face showed a jagged, wavering twenty to one, because Nikolka's head was full of chaos and confusion evoked by the significant enigmatic words: Malo-Provalnaya . . .', words spoken by the dying man in the fighting at the crossroads yesterday, words which somehow had to be deciphered no later than the next few days.
The chaos and difficulties had also been evoked by the puzzling and interesting figure of Lariosik falling from the sky into the Turbins' life and by the fact that a monstrous, grand event had befallen them: Petlyura had captured the city.
Petlyura, of all people - and the City, of all places.
And what would happen in it now was incomprehensible and inconceivable even to the most intelligent of human minds.
One thing was quite clear - yesterday saw the most appalling catastrophe: all our forces were thoroughly beaten, caught with their pants down.
Their blood shrieks to heaven - that is one thing.
Those criminals, the generals, and the swine at headquarters deserve to be killed - that is another.
But as well as sickening horror, a burning interest grew in Nikolka's mind - what, after all, is going to happen?
How are seven hundred thousand people going to live in a City in the power of an enigmatic personality with such a terrible, ugly name - Petlyura?
Who is he?
Why is he here?
Hell, though, all that takes second place for the moment in comparison with the most important thing, Alexei's bloody wound . . . horrible, horrible business.
Nothing is known for sure of course, but in all probability Myshlaevsky and Karas can be counted as dead too.
On the slippery, greasy kitchen table Nikolka was crushing ice with a broad-bladed hatchet.
The lumps of ice either split with a crunch or slithered out from under the hatchet and jumped all over the kitchen, whilst Nikolka's fingers grew numb.
Nearby was an ice-bag with a silvery cap.
'Malo . . .