"Пэлем Вудхауз. Jeeves in the offing (Предложения Дживса, engl)" - читать интересную книгу автора

in the poem who lost his pet gazelle or whatever the animal was. I
don't know what I'm going to do without him.'
'I'll tell you what you're going to do. Have you a clean shirt?'
'Several.'
'And a toothbrush?'
'Two, both of the finest quality.'
'Then pack them. You're coming to Brinkley tomorrow.'
The gloom which always envelops Bertram Wooster like a fog when
Jeeves is about to take his annual vacation lightened perceptibly.
There are few things I find more agreeable than a sojourn at Aunt
Dahlia's rural lair. Picturesque scenery, gravel soil, main drainage,
company's own water and, above all, the superb French cheffing of her
French chef Anatole, God's gift to the gastric juices. A full hand, as
you might put it.
'What an admirable suggestion,' I said. 'You solve all my problems
and bring the blue bird out of a hat. Rely on me. You will observe me
bowling up in the Wooster sports model tomorrow afternoon with my hair
in a braid and a song on my lips. My presence will, I feel sure,
stimulate Anatole to new heights of endeavour. Got anybody else staying
at the old snake pit?'
'Five inmates in all.'
'Five?' I resumed my tongue-clicking. 'Golly! Uncle Tom must be
frothing at the mouth a bit,' I said, for I knew the old buster's
distaste for guests in the home. Even a single weekender is sometimes
enough to make him drain the bitter cup.
'Tom's not there. He's gone to Harrogate with Cream.'
'You mean lumbago.'
'I don't mean lumbago. I mean Cream. Homer Cream. Big American
tycoon, who is visiting these shores. He suffers from ulcers, and his
medicine man has ordered him to take the waters at Harrogate. Tom has
gone with him to hold his hand and listen to him of an evening while he
tells him how filthy the stuff tastes.'
'Antagonistic.'
'What?'
'I mean altruistic. You are probably not familiar with the word, but
it's one I've heard Jeeves use. It's what you say of a fellow who gives
selfless service, not counting the cost.'
'Selfless service, my foot! Tom's in the middle of a very important
business deal with Cream. If it goes through, he'll make a packet free
of income tax. So he's sucking up to him like a Hollywood Yes-man.'
I gave an intelligent nod, though this of course was wasted on her
because she couldn't see me. I could readily understand my uncle-by-
marriage's mental processes. T. Portarlington Travers is a man who has
accumulated the pieces of eight in sackfuls, but he is always more than
willing to shove a bit extra away behind the brick in the fireplace,
feeling - and rightly -that every little bit added to what you've got
makes just a little bit more. And if there's one thing that's right up
his street, it is not paying income tax. He grudges every penny the
Government nicks him for.
'That is why, when kissing me goodbye, he urged me with tears in his