Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen

The doctor's caravan was parked outside the hotel, and there were five or six officers in the shop.Maria, a fat, fair-haired German woman in a jacket and nightcap, was sitting on a broad stool in the front corner.Her medic husband was sleeping behind her.Nicholas and Ilyin entered the room amidst laughter. "Oh! You are so happy here!" said Nikolay with a smile. "Why did you miss a good opportunity?" "Boy! Look at this pair of soaked chickens! Don't get our living room wet." "Don't get Maria's clothes dirty," someone continued. In order to avoid Maria, Nicholas and Erin hurriedly looked for a place to change their wet clothes.They went behind the partition to change their clothes, but found that the cubicle was full, with a candle burning on an empty chest, and three officers were sitting there playing cards, and they would not give up the space.Maria lent them a skirt as a curtain, and Nikolay and Ilyin changed into dry clothes with Lavrushka's help.

They lit a fire in the broken stove, put a plank they had found on two saddles, put on the coats, and procured a samovar, a larder, and a half-bottle of rum.They asked Maria to be their host, and they sat down around her.Someone gave her a clean handkerchief to wipe her beautiful little hands; someone spread a coat under her little feet to keep them from getting wet; someone hung a raincoat on the window to keep out the wind; someone brushed away the flies on her husband's face , lest the flies wake him up. "Don't worry about him," Maria said with a shy but happy smile, "he didn't sleep all night, and he slept well just like that."

"No, Maria," replied an officer, "have to serve the doctor well. Maybe someday I'll have to have a leg or an arm amputated, and he'll be merciful." There are only three cups; the water is so dirty that you can't see the strength of the tea, and the samovar can only boil six cups of water, but it's very interesting; everyone can take turns from Maria's fat hands with short nails and not so clean Take the teacup.Every one of the officers seemed to fall in love with Mariah that night.Even the officers who were playing cards behind the partition soon left their cards behind and came to the samovar, throwing themselves into the festive atmosphere of courting Maria.Maria looked around at the cheerful faces of the handsome, well-mannered young men, and although she tried to hide her joy, she was frightened when her husband moved in his sleep.

There is only one spoon, but there is too much sugar to stir, so it was decided that Maria would stir it for everyone in turn.Nicholas took the glass, added some rum, and asked Maria to stir it for him. "You haven't added sugar yet, have you?" she said, smiling all the time, as if whatever she said, or anyone else said, was ridiculous and ulterior motives. "I don't want sugar, I just want you to stir it with your little hands." Maria agreed immediately, and looked for the spoon everywhere, because no one knew who had taken the spoon. "Just stir it with your fingers, Maria," said Nikolay, "it's more delicious that way."

"It's so hot!" said Maria, flushing with excitement. Irene brought a bucket of water, poured a few drops of rum into it, went up to Maria, and asked her to stir it with her fingers. "Here's my cup," he said, "you just put your finger in it, and I'll drink it up." When all the tea in the samovar had been drunk, Nicholas took out a deck of cards and asked Maria to play "King" with Maria.Everyone cast lots to decide who should partner with Maria.Nicholas put forward the conditions for winning or losing: whoever is the king can kiss Maria's hand; whoever is a villain can burn a samovar for the doctor after he wakes up.

"So, what if Maria is king?" Ilyin asked. "She is the queen! Her orders are the law." They had just started playing cards when the doctor's shaggy head suddenly looked up from behind Mariah.He had been awake long ago, and listened to their conversation attentively, feeling that there was nothing cheerful, funny, or amusing in what they said or did.He looked sad and gloomy.Without greeting the officers, he scratched his head and asked whoever was in his way to let him out.As soon as he was out the officers laughed, and Maria flushed and tears welled up in her eyes, so they found her all the more charming.The doctor came back from the yard and told his wife (Maria had put away her happy smile and looked at the doctor timidly, awaiting his verdict) that the rain had stopped and that they had to sleep in the wagon, or the contents of the wagon would be destroyed. Stealing.

"Well, I'll send an orderly... two orderlies!" said Nikolai. "Forget it, doctor." "I'll stand guard myself!" said Ilyin. "No, gentlemen, you've had enough sleep, but I've been up two nights," said the doctor, sitting down beside his wife sullenly, and waiting for the game to be over. The officers were even happier to see the doctor looking at his wife with a straight face.Many people couldn't help laughing, and hurriedly found some high-sounding excuses to cover up.When the doctor took his wife out and settled down with her in the carriage, the officers covered themselves with wet coats and slept in the hotel.But they did not fall asleep for a long time, chatting with each other, recalling the doctor's dismay and his wife's joy, and running up the steps to report what had happened in the carriage.Nicholas covered his head several times and wanted to sleep, but he was amused by someone's words, and everyone talked again, and there was a happy and innocent laughter for no reason.