“Then where have all those fleas come from?”
“I can’t tell. Perhaps they crawled on to him from the britchka.”
“You lie! you lie! and you never meant to comb him. I believe, you fool, that you have given him some of your own fleas. Look here, Tchitchikoff, look what ears he has! just feel them with your hand.”
“Oh, I can see them; he’s of a good breed,” replied Tchitchikoff.
“No, but take hold of him; feel his ears.”
Tchitchikoff, to please Nozdreff, felt the animal’s ears, and then remarked, “Yes, he will be a good dog.”
“And do you feel how cold his nose is? Take it in your hand.”
Not wishing to offend him, Tchitchikoff touched the dog’s snout also, saying, “Good scent.”
“A genuine bull-dog,” went on Nozdreff. “I confess that I had for a long time been whetting my teeth for a bull-dog. Here, Porfiriy, take him away.”
Porfiriy took hold of the dog, and carried him off to the britchka.
“Listen, Tchitchikoff,” continued Nozdreff, “you certainly must come to my house; it’s only five versts away; we shall be there in no time, and then you can go to Sobakevitch’s, if you like.”
“Why not?” said Tchitchikoff to himself. “I will go to Nozdreff’s, after all. He isn’t any worse than the others. He’s like everybody else; and, besides, he’s just been losing money. He has plenty of everything, evidently; and I might ask him to give me something without payment.” “I’ll go, if you like,” he now added aloud; “but don’t detain me long; time is of value to me just now.”
“Ah! that’s right! that’s good! Wait, I’ll kiss you for that.” Here Nozdreff and Tchitchikoff embraced each other. “That’s glorious!” added the former; “we’ll all three ride together.”
“No, you must let me leave you,” said the fair-haired man. “I must go home.”
“Nonsense, nonsense, my dear fellow! I won’t let you go.”
“But really, my wife will be angry; you can get into the other britchka now.”
“Ni, ni, ni, don’t think of it.”
The fair-haired man was one of those individuals who, at first sight, seem to have a stubborn character. Before you have succeeded in opening your mouth they are ready to dispute, and it seems as if they would never agree with anyone. However, it always ends by their betraying some weakness, and consenting to the very thing they had opposed.
“Nonsense!” said Nozdreff, in answer to some objection made by his brother-in-law. Then he set the latter’s cap on his head, and the fair-haired fellow followed his companions.
“You haven’t paid for your aniseed, master,” now said the landlady.
“Oh, very well, very well, my good woman! I say, brother-in-law, pay, if you please. I haven’t a copeck left in my pocket.”
“How much do you want?” asked his brother-in-law.
“Why, twenty copecks in all,” said the old woman.