"Пэлем Грэнвил Вудхауз. Much obliged, Jeeves (Премного обязан, Дживс; англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

his dish at all. How's he doing?'
'Difficult to say so far. Anyway, he needs all the help he can
get, so I want you to come and canvass for him.'
This made me chew the lower lip for a moment. One has to
exercise caution at a time like this, or where is one?
'What does it involve?' I asked guardedly. 'I shan't have to
kiss babies, shall I?'
'Of course you won't, you abysmal chump.'
'I've always heard that kissing babies entered largely into
these things.'
'Yes, but it's the candidate who does it, poor blighter. All
you have to do is go from house to house urging the inmates to vote
for Ginger.'
'Then rely on me. Such an assignment should be well within my
scope. Old Ginger!' I said, feeling emotional. 'It will warm the
what-d'you-call-its of my heart to see him again.'
'Well, you'll have the opportunity of hotting them up this very
afternoon. He's gone to London for the day and wants you to lunch
with him.'
'Does he, egad! That's fine. What time?'
'One-thirty.'
'At what spot?'
'Barribault's grill-room.'
'I'll be there. Jeeves,' I said, hanging up, 'You remember
Ginger Winship, who used to play Damon to my Pythias?'
'Yes, indeed, sir.'
'They've got an election on at Market Snodsbury, and he's
standing in the Conservative interest.'
'So I understood Madam to say, sir.'
'Oh, you caught her remarks?'
'With little or no difficulty, sir. Madam has a penetrating
voice.'
'It does penetrate, doesn't it,' I said, massaging the ear I
had been holding to the receiver. 'Good lung power.'
'Extremely, sir.'
'I wonder whether she ever sang lullabies to me in my cradle.
If so, it must have scared me cross-eyed, giving me the illusion
that the boiler had exploded. However, that is not germane to the
issue, which is that we leave for her abode this afternoon. I shall
be lunching with Ginger. In my absence, pack a few socks and
toothbrushes, will you.'
'Very good, sir,' he replied, and we did not return to the
subject of the club book.


3

It was with no little gusto and animation that some hours later
I set out for the tryst. This Ginger was one of my oldest buddies,
not quite so old as Kipper Herring or Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright,