Portartur. 1940. Boris Trofimov
there comes decently. Treasury money, unscrupulous contractors… By the spring it will be possible to come up with something.
The bell rang. All went to the meeting room.
four
On the last Sunday of January Valya Inova came to the Podkovins. Tikhon met her on the third day of Christmas at Rychagov.
“Come to us now,” suggested Valya Tikhon and his sister. – Our people left for the village, and no one will interfere with us… I am afraid that we will soon leave Irkutsk. Pape offer a very profitable service in the Far East. I’m sorry to part with you, but apparently I’ll have to.
Tikhon began to dissuade.
– And do not think. What kind of news?.. Come on, let’s go!..
The apartment of the bank clerk Modest Vladimirovich Inov was large and luxuriously furnished. Nobody came before dusk. Valya played the piano, Tikhon sang. Fima looked at illustrations in the rich editions of the Inov library.
– From you, Tikhon, you can make a singer, even for the stage.
– I would never become an artist. But I love to sing. Occasionally sing something for friends is not bad.
Vale suddenly wanted to explain to Tikhon.
– For Wari?
“Varya is a good girl, but I did not give her any reason…”
– I can see…
Tikhon’s cheeks were covered with a blush.
– Listen, Quiet, I want to give you a riddle. Are you offended by my joke?
– I am afraid of your jokes only in a big company. Speak
– You decided to marry, and you have two beauties in mind. Both of them you like, and you are sure of success. In what order would you make an offer?
– First to you and last Vare. I’m sure of her, but you are not. And if I had made an offer to Vare, I could not have given you pleasure.
– That’s what you are mocking… But you would have lost. Would I have missed such a falcon?
Valya laughed loudly.
– And what kind of mansion will I take my fairy to?
– Won that came up! We have a different social position, you are the son of a peasant… But the heart, not the reason, participates in the choice of the beloved, “said Valya.
– All this is correct, but not for the husband, but for the beloved.
You’re intolerable boy, – bit her lip, answered Valya. “You argue like an old man, but you, with your dark gray eyes, lad…”
In May, the Inovs were to go to Harbin, and in late April it became known: the session of the court chamber would travel to the Far East in June. Tikhon was included in the session.
– One of your trips can justify your work as a registrar, – said Valya, having heard the news that was pleasant for Podkov.
Tikhon looked at the girl with embarrassment. His heart was beating fast.
five
The fertile plains of Manchuria turned around the Khingan Range before the Podkovin and judicial officials who left Irkutsk for a session. Around treeless, hilly expanse. There were still few villages, but herds of cows were often encountered. The train crossed fields with thick thickets of kaolin and corn. On high beds green soybeans. The fields sown by her seemed like striped fabric.
Delyusto and a member of the judicial chamber Kostinsky did not move away from the carriage window. The comrade of the prosecutor Yerakov, the defender Zverev, the member of the chamber Malinovsky and the chairman of the civil department Baron Taube played cards.
– A rich country lies at our side. Wild and desert country. Even the Chinese learned about its economic opportunities only after the Russian Chinese-Eastern Railway, “said Delyusto.
“The Chinese should be grateful to the Russians for this road,” said Baron Taube.
“Mmmmm,” muttered Zverev, smiling crookedly.
Along the roadway, after three or four kilometers, small fortresses of the railway guard, built to protect them from the Hunhuz, adorned the raids, still flaunted.
Behind Sungarii Bridge, on a large plain, noisy Harbin grew fabulously fast. On the river near the piers there were a dozen and a half beautiful river steamers plying along the Sungari and the Amur from Harbin to Blagoveshchensk, Khabarovsk and Nikolaevsk. Life in Harbin was in full swing.Huge flat-bottomed barges loaded wheat, beans, bean oil, barley, and eggs. The pipes of flour mills continuously smoked. At the stations, the products were fabulously cheap. The edge rose to life.
The sotolok of the Harbin station stunned Tikhon. Thick crowd of Chinese buzzing on the platform. It was difficult to get through it. Every now and then he was snatching a suitcase with the proposal to take him to the hotel.
– Tikhon, Tikhonya! – Podkovin heard a female voice behind him. – Where are you in a hurry?
– Valya!
Podkovin flushed and lowered his eyes. He became happy, and at the same time something confused him. He was confused.
– Yes hello! – Valya grabbed Tikhon by her free hand and kissed her cheek. – Not expected? Fima is well done, telegraphed.
Placing the suitcase, Tikhon took Valya by the hand, looked into her eyes:
– Hello, Valya!
– Oh, my God, how I missed Irkutsk… You have completely changed. A tunic suits you.
Podkovin looked at the judicial officials.
– You need to talk with the secretary! Let’s go together.
Delas was surprised. Valya met him and said:
– Today release Tikhon Stepanovich to us. We were friends with his sister when I lived in Irkutsk. Tomorrow morning, he will come to you, wherever you indicate.
– I am very happy. Tomorrow he can find us in the hotel “Far East”.
While members of the court chamber sat on dirty cabby cabs, Valya and Tikhon drove past them on a pair of well-groomed horses harnessed to a brand new carriage.
– Seems our registrar? – asked. Malinovsky.
“Yes,” Delauce laughed. – Today he was met by the daughter of a local bank employee. The guy is growing!..
– A sign of the times! – exclaimed Zverev.
6
The train raced between the hills. On the left stood jagged mountain. Podkovina satellites were military and two merchants. “Mount Samson,” said the soldier. “We will see Kinzhou soon.” The strongest position! And here are the first fortifications of the Kvantunsky Peninsula, see – trench belts.
On the left, the Gulf of Tiena was spread. The morning was quiet. The sea drew on itself, and Podkovin did not want to think about war and fortifications. He was full of experiences from Harbin. And at the same time, some awkwardness confused him. It seemed to him that in Harbin, in the presence of Vali, he did and did not say what