Without a dowry / Бесприданница. Книга для чтения на английском языке

Ivan runs out of the coffee house with a hand broom to brush off Paratov.

Paratov (to Ivan). What are you doing! I’ve just come from the water, there’s no dust on the Volga.

Ivan. All the same, sir, it’s impossible not to… custom requires it. It’s been a whole year since we saw you… we want to welcome you, sir.

Paratov. All right, fine, thank you. Here. (Hegives him a ruble note.)

Ivan. Thank you very much, sir. (He goes off.)

Paratov. So, Vasily Danilych, you were expecting me to come on the Flier?

Vozhevatov.

I didn’t know you’d be coming on your Swallow. I thought you’d be coming with the barges.

Paratov. No, I sold my barges. I thought I’d get here early this morning. I wanted to pass the Flier, but the engineer’s a coward. I keep shouting to the stokers, “Stoke away!”-but he takes the wood from them. He climbs out of the hold and says, “If you throw down just one more log, I’ll throw myself overboard.” He was afraid the boiler wouldn’t stand it.

He scratched out some figures for me on paper, calculated the pressure. He’s a foreigner, a Dutchman, a timid soul; they have arithmetic instead of a soul. But gentlemen, I forgot to introduce you to my friend. Moky Parmenych, Vasily Danilych, I present you-Robinson.

Robinson bows solemnly and shakes hands with Knurov and Vozhevatov.

Vozhevatov. And what’s his first name and patronymic?

Paratov. He’s just Robinson, that’s all, no first name or patronymic.

Robinson (to Paratov). Serge!

Paratov. What is it?

Robinson. It’s noon, my friend, I’m suffering.

Paratov. You just wait, we’ll be going to an inn.

Robinson (pointing to the coffee house). VoilГ !

Paratov. All right, go ahead, have it your own way!

Robinson goes to the coffee house.

Gavrilo, don’t serve that gentleman more than one small glass; he has a restless disposition.

Robinson (shrugging his shoulders). Serge! (He enters the coffee house, Gavrilo after him.

)

Paratov. That, gentlemen, is an actor from the provinces, Arkady Shchastlivtsev by name.

Vozhevatov. Then why is he called Robinson?

Paratov. I’ll tell you. He was traveling on some steamboat or other, I don’t know which one, with a friend of his, a merchant’s son named Neputôvy, both drunk, of course, drunk as could be. They did whatever came into their head, and the passengers put up with it all.