Chapter 10 Chapter nine

The day began again with a din of voices.Rodion gave the order with a sad face, and three other attendants were assisting him.For the meeting, Marthe's whole family came, bringing all their furniture.No, in his imagination, this long-awaited meeting was not like this... They walked in with great difficulty!Marthe's father is old, with a big bald head and puffy eyes, and the rubber head of the black cane makes a clicking sound; Marthe's two twin brothers look exactly the same, the only difference is that one has a blond beard and the other has a black beard; Si's grandparents are so old that you can recognize them at a glance; however, three lively cousins ​​​​are somehow not allowed in at the last minute; It was Marthe himself, in his prettiest black dress, with a velvet scarf round his cold white neck, and holding a small mirror; and at his side was a respectable man, who looked impeccable from the side.

Leaning on crutches, the father-in-law sat on the leather chair that was delivered at the same time. With great difficulty, he lifted a suede foot and put it on the footstool. He shook his head angrily, and stared at Xin Xin under thick eyelashes. Natus.Cincinnatus saw the frog pattern on his father-in-law's thermal jacket and felt the familiar numbness.His mouth was wrinkled in what seemed to be an expression of eternal loathing, and on his taut, bulging temple was a purple birthmark, like a large raisin bulging from a vein. Grandfather and grandmother (one wobbly, haggard, wearing patched trousers, the other with short white hair and skinny enough to fit into a silk umbrella cover) sat side by side on two identical high-backed chairs, and my grandfather had a pair of Little furry hands clutch a large gold-framed portrait of his mother, and a blurred young woman also holds a portrait.

Meanwhile, furniture, household utensils, and even walls continued to arrive.Among them is a clothes frame embedded with a mirror, while bringing its own private reflection (i.e. a corner of the couple's bedroom, a smear of sunlight on the floor, a glove dropped on the floor, an open door in the distance).A forlorn little tricycle with misshapen attachments was wheeled in, followed by an inlaid table on which, for ten years, a flat crimson capped flask and a hairpin had stood.Marthe sat down on her black rose-embroidered sofa. "Ouch, ouch!" exclaimed the father-in-law, tapping the floor with his cane.Frightened smiles appeared on the faces of several old people present. "Come on, Dad, we've been through this a thousand times," Marth said calmly, shrugging his shoulders indifferently.The young man next to her handed her a fringed shawl, but there was only a gentle smile on her thin lips, and she waved away his sensitive hand (“I think a man looks at his hands first”) ).He wore the smart black uniform of a telegraph clerk and smelled of violet perfume.

"Ouch!" the father-in-law sighed loudly again, and began to accuse Cincinnatus at length and with relish.Cincinnatus's eye was drawn to Pauline's green polka-dot dress: red hair, squinting eyes, glasses, and the polka dots and her fatness didn't make people laugh, they made people feel sad.She had fat legs, and she wore brown wool stockings and buckled shoes, and she walked awkwardly up to each one and looked at them carefully, silently examining them with her little black eyes, The back of the bridge of the nose seems to be squeezed together.The poor boy still had a napkin round his neck--they evidently forgot to take it off after breakfast.

The father-in-law paused to catch his breath, and tapped the ground again with his cane, at which point Cincinnatus said, "That's right, I'm listening." "Shut up, impertinent man," cried the father-in-law, "I have a right to demand that you--on this day, when you stand at death's door--have a little respect for me. How did you get this far? Field, about to be beheaded on the anvil...I want you to explain—how could you...how dare you..." Marth asked in a low voice what was the matter with her young man; he was rummaging carefully around and under him on the sofa; It was dropped on the road...don't worry, you will find it...but please tell me, are you really not cold?" Masi shook her head in denial, and at the same time put her soft palm on his wrist; She withdrew her hand, smoothed the dress from her knees, and whispered harshly to her son, who was pestering the two uncles, who kept pushing him away—he was so noisy that they couldn't hear what was being said. what.Diometan wore a gray smock with elastic at the waist.He contorted his entire body rhythmically, but quickly covered the distance between them and his mother.His left leg is healthy and ruddy; his right leg is intricately equipped like a rifle: barrel, strap, lanyard.His hazel eyes and sparse eyebrows were like his mother's, but the lower half of his face, including the bulldog-like jaw, was someone else's. "Sit here," Marthe murmured, reaching out a hand quickly and snapping at the little mirror that was sliding down the sofa.

"Tell me," went on the father-in-law, "how dare you, you, be happy with a wife and children--rich furniture, lively children, a loving wife--how dare you not think of all this, You villain? Sometimes I feel like an old fool who doesn't understand anything, otherwise I would have to understand this disgusting... Shut up!" he roared, and the old people were startled again and could only giggle. A black cat straightened up, tensed one hind paw, and hopped past Cincinnatus's leg, sprang onto the sideboard, and from there onto the lawyer's shoulder, who had just tiptoed. Came in and was about to sit down on a luxurious cushion in a corner--he had a bad cold, a spare handkerchief in his hand, and was perusing the throng and the various household objects that made the cell look like an auction Row.The cat startled him so much that he threw it away with one violent movement.

The father-in-law continued to scold loudly, the curse words were too much to add, and his voice was hoarse.Marthe covered her eyes with one hand, and her young man, with tense jaw muscles, watched her.Sitting on a curvaceous couch was Marthe's brother, a dark-skinned brother in a tan suit with an open collar, holding a tube of staff paper in his hand, but there was no music score on the paper—he was from the city One of the best singers.His twin brother in sky-blue knickerbockers, a dandy but fond of amusing, brought his brother-in-law a plate of bright fruit made of wax.He wears black veil on his sleeve, and keeps pointing at it to attract Cincinnatus's eye.

At the height of his father-in-law's expletives, the throat suddenly constricted, the chair twisted violently, and the quiet little Pauline, who had been standing beside him watching his mouth, fell backwards in the chair, and she simply lay there motionless, hoping no one would notice her.With a crackle, the father-in-law began to open a cigarette box.Everyone was silent. All kinds of voices that had been covered up emerged again.Masi's black brother cleared his throat and began to sing "Mali e trano t'amesti..." softly.He stopped suddenly and looked at his twin brother, who was looking at him with a terrible look.The lawyer didn't know what he was laughing at, and his attention was turned back to his handkerchief.Sitting on the sofa, Marthe was whispering to the man who accompanied her, and the man was begging her to put on a shawl—the air in the prison was a bit humid.They talked in the formal second-person plural, and the boat of the second-person plural, full of tenderness, sailed slowly along the horizon of their barely audible conversation... The little old man rose tremblingly from his chair , handing the portrait in his hand to his wife, and covering a flame as quivering as himself, walked towards Cincinnatus' father-in-law, about to order his... but the flame went out, and the latter angrily frown.

"You're such a nuisance with a stupid lighter like that," he said sullenly, but his anger had subsided.Then the atmosphere really came alive and everyone was talking at the same time. "Mali e trano t'amesti!" sang Mali e trano t'amesti, Masi's brother. "Diometan, let go of the cats at once," said Marthe. "You strangled one the day before yesterday, and strangling one in a day is too much. Victor, dear, take the cats out of his hands." While the overall atmosphere was active, Pauline got up from the back of the chair and stood up quietly.The lawyer went up to Cincinnatus' father-in-law and lit a cigarette for him.

"Take the word 'anxiety,'" said Cincinnatus' playful brother-in-law to him, "and now take the word 'tiny,' eh? It turns out funny, doesn't it? Yes, my friend, you do Messed yourself up. What the hell made you do that?" At the same moment, the door swung open.M. Pierre and the superintendent stood on the threshold, both hands clasped behind their backs.They remained calm, just turning their eyeballs subtly, observing everyone present carefully.They stood there, watching like this for more than a minute before leaving. "Listen to me," breathed my brother-in-law, "I'm your old friend. Do as I say. Repent, my little Cincinnatus. Do as I say, and do me good. You don't know, they might let you go. Understand? Think how unpleasant it is to have your head chopped off. What have you got to lose? Do as I say - don't be a fool .”

"Hello, hello, hello," said the lawyer, coming up to Cincinnatus. "Don't hug me, I have a bad cold. What were you talking about? How can I help?" "Let me pass," whispered Cincinnatus, "I have a few words to say to my wife..." "Well, my dearest, let's discuss the property," said the father-in-law, his spirits restored, and stretched out his crutches, causing Cincinnatus to stumble. "Wait, wait, I'm still talking to you!" As Cincinnatus walked on, he had to go around a large dining table that seated ten, and squeeze his way between a screen and a wardrobe to reach Marthe, who was reclining on the sofa.The young man had covered her feet with a shawl.Cincinnatus was almost there, but at this moment Diometan suddenly let out an angry scream.He turned and saw Amy, who somehow got in, was teasing the little boy: she imitated his limp, dragged a leg, and made all sorts of complicated contortions.Cincinnatus grabbed her arm, but she broke free and fled.Pauline swaggered after her, delighted with curiosity. Marth turned to him.The young man rose gracefully. "Marth, just say a few words, I beg you," said Cincinnatus quickly.He tripped over a cushion on the floor and sat awkwardly on the edge of the sofa, wrapping his dusty dressing gown tighter. "She has a bit of a migraine," the young man said. "What do you want? Getting emotional isn't good for her." "You're right," said Cincinnatus, "yes, you're right. I want you to... I should—in private— —" "Excuse me, sir," said Rodion's voice in his ear.Cincinnatus stood up.Rodion and another employee exchanged glances, grabbed the sofa that Marth was sitting on, snorted, lifted it up, and carried it to the door. "Good-bye, good-bye," cried Marthe childlike, swaying with the porter's footsteps, but suddenly she closed her eyes and covered her face.Her chaperone followed her apprehensively, holding a black shawl he'd picked up from the floor, a bouquet of flowers, his uniform cap, and a lone glove.There was chaos everywhere.Two twin brothers are packing dishes into boxes.Panting, their father was dismantling the divided screen.The lawyer got a large sheet of wrapping paper from somewhere and tried to stuff it around, and he was seen trying to wrap a small basin with muddy water and a small pale orange fish in it, but was unsuccessful.In the midst of the chaos, the armoire carried its own mirror image, standing like a pregnant woman, carefully holding her glass belly, changing direction so that no one would bump into it.It leaned back and was carried away by people staggeringly.People walked up to Cincinnatus to say goodbye to him. "Well, let the past be the past," said the father-in-law, coldly and politely, and kissed Cincinnatus' hand as was the custom.The white brother sat on the black brother's shoulders, and in this gesture they bid farewell to Cincinnatus and went away, like a moving mountain.The grandparents trembled, bowed, and held up blurred portraits.Employees kept removing furniture.The children approached: serious Pauline raised his face, Diometan, on the contrary, stared down at the floor.The lawyer took their hands and led them away.The last to run towards him was Amy, pale and tear-stained, with a red nose and a wet mouth quivering.She didn't say a word, but suddenly heard a slight creak, she ran on tiptoe, put her warm arms around his neck, murmured something in a low voice, and let out a loud whimper.Rodion grabbed her wrist - judging from his murmurs and complaints, he must have called her for a long time.Now he grabbed her tightly and dragged her toward the door.With her body arched back, her flowing head turned towards Cincinnatus, her lovely arms upturned toward him (a ballerina look, but with shades of pure desperation), Amy reluctantly Let Rodion drag it along.Her eyes kept looking back, and her shoulder straps slipped.At this moment, he twisted hard, as if throwing a bucket of water, and threw her into the corridor.Still nagging, he came back with a dustpan and picked up the dead cat lying under the chair.The door slammed shut with a loud bang.It’s hard to believe now that just now in this cell—