"Anatoly Rybakov. The dirk (Кортик, англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

would wear bell-bottomed trousers, or, better still, puttees; smart khaki
army puttees.
He would carry a rifle, hand-grenades, machine-gun belts, and wear a
revolver on a creaky leather waist-belt.
He would ride a raven-black horse, slender-legged, sharp-eyed, with a
powerful croup, short neck, and a sleek coat.
And he would catch Nikitsky and break up his gang. Then he and Polevoy
would go to the front and fight shoulder-to-shoulder; he would save
Polevoy's life heroically and die, leaving his friend to grieve for him all
his life; and he would never again meet a boy like Misha....
And Misha went to sleep.


Chapter 4

THE PUNISHMENT



Misha did not doubt that Uncle Senya had invented this punishment. It
could not have been anyone else. And the thing that hurt most was that
Grandfather was siding with him.
"Got all the running about you wanted yesterday?" he said,, looking up
at Misha while they were having their breakfast. "Well, I'm glad of that.
Should last you for a week, at least. I'm afraid you'll have to stay indoors
to-day."
Waste the whole day at home! To-day. On Sunday! The fellows were going
to the woods and might even cross to the island in a boat, while he ...
Misha twisted his mouth and stared at his plate.
"What are you sulking about?" Grandmother said. "You're getting far too
mischievous."
"That's enough," interjected Grandfather, rising from the table. "He's
got his punishment. Now it's all over."
Misha slouched despondently from room to room. What a rotten place this
is! he thought.
The walls in the dining-room were covered with oil paintings. The paint
was cracked and had lost its lustre. One painting showed a huge white
sea-gull skimming over blue waves; another was of a reindeer with long,
branching horns, standing between two straight pines; a third painting had
some herons in it; yet another depicted bearded hunters in top boots and
feathers in their caps, with guns and bandoliers slung over their shoulders;
in the foreground were dogs with noses close to the ground. Misha thought
the dogs had clever eyes.
Portraits of Grandfather and Grandmother, taken when they were young,
hung on the wall behind the sofa. Grandfather had a thick moustache, and his
clean-shaven chin was propped up by a starched collar with bent corners.
Grandmother wore a high-necked black dress and a medallion on a long chain
around her neck. Her hair was piled high on her head so that it almost
touched the frame.
Misha went out into the yard where two wood-cutters were sawing