"Braun, Lilian Jackson - The Cat Who 009 - The Cat Who Went Underground" - читать интересную книгу автора (Braun Lillian Jackson)

"My name is Qwilleran, and I'm staying at the Klingen-schoen cabin near Top o" the Dunes."

The gnome nodded wisely. "That be the place with a K on a post."

"Correct," said Qwilleran. "I have a heating problem. I need a repairman."

"See the wife," said the little man, nodding toward the house in the rear. "She be the one does all that."

Qwilleran grunted his thanks and found his way to the house, picking his way through tall weeds, chunks of concrete, and auto parts. Three other cars were parked in the weedy lot, waiting for Glinko's attention, and they were all in the $40,000 class.

The house was no less dilapidated than the garage. The front steps had caved in, and Qwilleran climbed cautiously through the remaining boards and rapped on the torn screened door. The woman who waddled over to greet him, ample flesh bouncing and tentlike dress billowing, was all smiles and affability.

He introduced himself and said, "I understand you operate a service network."

"Network!" she hooted, her plump cheeks trembling with merriment. "That's a good one! Wait'll I tell Glinko. Ha ha ha! Come in and join the club. You wanna beer?"

"Thank you, but I have two friends waiting for me in the car," he declined.

She ushered him into a dingy living room where there was nothing to suggest a business operation. "Two hun'erd to join," she stated. "Fifty a year dues, or a hun'erd if you wanna be on the fast track."

Qwilleran thought the fee exorbitant, but he gave his name and the address of the cabin and opted for priority service. "Right now I need a wall-heater repaired in a hurry. How quickly can you dispatch a repairman?"

"Dispatch!" she cried with glee. "That's a good one! Gotta use that! . . . Lemme see ... In a hurry for a plumber, eh?" She gazed upward as if reading file cards on the water-stained ceiling. "Ralph, he went off to Pickax for a load o" pipe.

. ., Jerry, he come down with hay fever so bad he can't see to drive . ..

Little Joe's workin" out your way, puttin" in a new toilet for the Urbanks. I'll radio out there."

"Do you bill me for the work?" Qwilleran asked.

"Nope. You pay Little Joe when the work's done. But you gotta gimme a key."

He handed over the new key with reluctance. "I'll write you a check for three hundred. Is that right?"

Mrs. Glinko shook her head and grinned. "Gotta have cash."

"In that case I'll have to go over to the bank. Do you want to write down my name and address? It's spelled Q-w-i-1-1-e-r-a-n."

"Got it!" she said, tapping her temple. "I'll dispatch Little Joe after dinner.

Dispatch! Ha ha ha!"

"Not until after dinner?" he protested.

"We eat dinner. You folks eat lunch. Ha ha ha!"

After picking up some cash at the bank for Mrs. Glinko, Qwilleran drove to a parking lot overlooking the municipal marina. There he released the cats from the hamper. "No point in going home yet," he told them. "We'll give the guy time to fix the heater. Let's hope the Glinko system works."

He bought a hot dog and coffee at the refreshment stand and consumed it behind the wheel, offering the Siamese a few crumbs which they delicately declined.