Chapter 4 04. Chameleon

Police officer Ochumelov, wearing a new military overcoat and carrying a small bag, walked across the market square.Behind him followed a reddish-haired policeman, carrying a sieve full of confiscated gooseberries.There was silence all around. ... There is not even a shadow of a person in the square.Shops and taverns opened their doors and looked out listlessly into the world of God, like hungry mouths.There is not even a beggar near the store door. "How dare you bite, you damn thing!" Ochumelov heard voices suddenly. "Guys, don't let him go! Biting is not a good thing these days! Catch him! Ouch, ... Ouch!"

A dog screamed.Ochumelov looked over there and saw a dog running out of the woodyard of the merchant Pichugin, running on three legs and looking back.Behind it, a man was chasing out, wearing a starched calico shirt and an open waistcoat.He ran after the dog, leaned forward, threw himself on the ground, and grabbed the dog by its hind legs.Immediately afterwards, there were dogs barking and people shouting: "Don't let it go!" Sleepy faces poked out of the shop, and soon a group of people gathered at the gate of the firewood yard, as if they had come out of the ground. the same.

"There seems to be a commotion, sir! . . . " said the policeman. Ochumelov turned slightly to the left and walked towards the crowd.At the gate of the woodyard, he saw the above-mentioned man standing there in the unbuttoned waistcoat, holding up his right hand and showing a bloody finger to the crowd.There was this look on his half-drunk face: "I'll take your skin off, bastard!" And the finger itself was like a victory banner.Ochumelov recognized this man as the jeweler Khryukin.The culprit of the disturbance, a white terrier with a pointed face and a yellow spot on its back, sat on the ground in the center of the crowd, its front legs spread out, and its whole body trembling.Its tearful eyes showed distress and fear.

"What's going on here?" asked Ochumelov, pushing his way through the crowd. "What are you doing here? Why are you pointing your finger up? . . . Who's shouting?" "I was going my own way, sir, I didn't provoke anyone, I didn't provoke anyone..." Khryukin began to cough into his empty fist. "I was talking to Mitley Mitlich about firewood, when all of a sudden this wretch bit my finger for no reason. . . . Please forgive me, I'm a workman. . . . My work That's fine. I'll have to pay me a fortune, because I may not be able to move this finger for a week. . . . In the law, sir, there is no such thing as saying that a person who is injured by an animal should be punished. Endure it... If everyone is bitten by a dog, it would be better not to live in this world..."

"Well! . . . well . . . " said Ochumelov sternly, coughing and moving his eyebrows. "Okay... Whose dog is this? I can't ignore this kind of thing. I want to show some color to those who let the dog out to cause trouble! Now it's time to deal with the gentlemen who don't want to obey the law Yes! When the fine is paid, he, the bastard, will understand what it means to let dogs and other animals out! I'll show him a little bit more.... Yeerdi Mausoleum," the policeman said to the policeman, "you Go and find out whose dog this is, and file a report! This dog must be killed. No delay! This is probably a mad dog. . . . Let me ask you: Whose dog is this?"

"This dog looks like it belonged to General Sigalov's!" said someone from the crowd. "General Sigalov's? Hmm! ... You, Yerdyling, take off my coat. ... It's hot! It's going to rain. ... There's only one thing I don't understand: How did it bite you?" Ochumelov said to Khryukin. "Could it reach your finger? It's small, but you, you know, are so tall! Your finger was probably pricked by a little nail, and then you got a whimsy and got paid for it. You This kind of person...everyone knows what it is! I know you devils!" "He, sir, poked his cigar in it's face and made fun of it. And it, refusing to be a fool, bit him. . . . He's a bore, sir!"

"You are talking nonsense, one-eyed one! Why are you talking nonsense because your eyes are blind? The magistrate is a sensible man, and he can tell who is talking nonsense, and who speaks with conscience as if in the presence of God. ... If I want to talk nonsense, let the conciliation judge judge me All right. His law is clear. . . . Everyone is equal now. . . . To tell you the truth, . . . my brother is a gendarme. . . . " "Stop talking nonsense!" "No, this dog does not belong to the General's family..." said the policeman thoughtfully. "The general doesn't have dogs like that in his house. Most of his dogs are big hounds. . . . "

"Are you sure?" "Certainly, sir. . . . " "I know it myself. The dogs in the general's family are all expensive, and they are all good breeds. What about this dog, who knows what it is! The coat color is not good, the appearance is not good-looking, ... it is completely low. ... His old man will Such a dog?! Where did your brain go? If such a dog came across in Petersburg or Moscow, you know what would happen? There, it doesn't matter what the law is, it's cut off in a second. Angry! You, Khryukin, have suffered, and this is not to be neglected. . . . They must be taught a lesson! It is time. . . . "

"But it might be the general's dog..." the policeman spoke out his thoughts. "It doesn't have any writing on its face....I saw such a dog in his yard a few days ago." "That's right, it belongs to the general's family!" Someone in the crowd said. "Hmm! . . . you, brother Yerdyling, put on my coat. . . . It seems to be windy. . . . It's cold. . Ask there. . . . You say that I found this dog and sent it to you. . . . You say never let it be released on the street. Maybe it is a rare dog, if every pig takes a cigar Poke it in the face with a cigarette, and it won't be long before it's trampled to death. Dogs are delicate animals. . . . You, fool, put your hand down! Don't show your stupid finger! It's all your fault I'm not good!..."

"Here comes the General's cook, let's ask him. . . . Hey, Prohor! Come here, dear! Look at this dog. . . . Is it yours?" "Guessing! We never had a dog like that there!" "Then it won't take much trouble to ask," said Ochumelov. "It's a wild dog! There's no need to say more. . . . Since he says it's a wild dog, it's a wild dog. . . . Just kill it." "This dog is not ours," Prohor continued. "But this is the general's brother's dog. He came to us the other day. Our general doesn't like this kind of dog. His old brother does. . . . "

"Is his elder brother here? Vladimir Ivanitch?" asked Ochumelov, with a passionate smile all over his face. "Wonderful, Lord! I don't know! He's coming to stay for a while?" "Stay for a while..." "How wonderful, Lord! . . . He misses his brother. . . . But I don't know it yet! So this is his old man's dog? I'm glad. . . . You take it. . . . The dog monster is pretty good....very smart....it bit the guy's finger! Hahahaha!...hey, why are you shaking? Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ,... What a puppy..." Prohor called the dog and led it away from the woodyard. ...the crowd laughed at Khryukin. "Sooner or later I'll get you!" Ochumelov threatened him, and wrapping himself in his overcoat, he walked across the market square.

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