A. Belyaev - Classics fantasy – 7. Stories-2

“How it deceived? In what?”

“And that, maybe, you are this most… элементик from a pocket lamp hid somewhere, from it and current took. Such cases, speak, were. Some inventor assured that from the earth it is possible to extract electricity too. Also got, and then it turned out that at it in the earth elements were dug”.

Here it that! I did not restrain. “Children – I say – the director suspects us of deception! Let’s go to it!”

“Bass!” – one Turkmen Komsomol member shouts. “Bass” means “press”. From this word and “basmatches” are called. Well, we also pressured the director. Forced it to go with us and most to look.

He attentively examined everything, sees – there is no falseness.

Sat down at me at a table, here, where you sit now – in this room all and occurred – lit a cigarette and speaks:

“You forgive me, companions, let’s talk peacefully. Everyone protects himself. Do not think; that I am some wrecker and against your invention. The invention is good. Excellent invention. If it is possible, you will make big business. But become you on my place. And if it is not possible? How you think, will pat me on the back for copper? And not in one copper business. You will be need thin brass plates. At us not to make them. It is necessary to order at the plant. How to issue such order? On whose means?”

“You to us only release copper, and all of us will suit the rest!” – I answer.

“And with copper so the situation is. I, at the own risk, will not give, and do not ask. But let’s try to get permission of trust. I in return promise to support your petition and to confirm that in vitro you achieved success though… um… of course, a lot of things that worked well in laboratory, were not performed in practice… But we will not speak about it now. So on hands?”

All of us are silent.

“You, companion Okizov, will not undertake personal responsibility?”

I see: and Okizov presses close. To it it is pardonable. From where to it know what from our invention will turn out?

“So on it we will also finish – the director says. – Tomorrow we write to trust!”

It left, Okizov left, and we sit who on a table who on a stool and who and directly on a floor, on cards. Time after midnight, and to nobody a dream goes to the head. We think: how to be? And here one speaks:

“The director not against us. The director does not want to be only against himself. He is afraid to release copper because there will not be enough copper for factories and the plants. And we still, our mine, did not execute a promfinplan. Ran into debt to the country. What it is necessary to make that the director gave copper? We will go to it tomorrow and we will tell: all of us register in drummers. We undertake to liquidate break. We will be ahead of schedule. And we will extract copper which is necessary to us for a roof in overtime, free of charge. If from our photo cell nothing turns out, we return to the mine all copper”.

And as it did not come to our mind earlier!

Next morning we stated our plan to the director. The person blossomed. Still! Now not it to us, but we presented such gift to it.

Promfinplan we exceeded. Copper was received. The rest everything was arranged. And, as you see, the house is already covered with brass plates. Today I began to paint them a copper oxide. In several days I hope to end.

The next day I had to leave for work – to catch the river.

It happened so that on the way back I did not manage to come to Sinitsyn though our cars passed late at night absolutely near the copper mine. Windows of the two-storeyed house standing on a hillock were brightly lit with electricity. The correspondence engineer and his companions achieved the objective. The sun of Turkestan began to shine not only in the afternoon, but also at night.

– I congratulate!

– With all the heart I congratulate! You were lucky, Levka. From a school bench and, one may say, directly in captains of the air ship.

– Well, my ship on a leash! – with laughter Leopold Miller answered.

– He was twice lucky. Listen! Do not interrupt! – dark-haired living Dunsky tried to outvoice all. – First, such appointment…

– On merits, the brother!.

– Wait, do not interrupt, Zavachkin! First, such appointment, and secondly, such assistant. You will be the idiot, Levka if you do not make to Zoya a proposal of marriage. And I on your place would never go down on the earth. You will be inhabitants of heaven. You will be able to use cloudless happiness – your “Condor” soars above clouds. And you, Zoyka, you will become the ancestor of the new mankind born in the sky!

– Capture with yourself only the good nurse that your future air baby did not fall from height of one thousand kilometers!

– Yes will be to you! – Zoya laughed, stirring up the light-haired short-haired head. – I am not going to get married, and Levka is not pleasant to me at all.

– Well, we will put it!

– The love and a smell of musk cannot be hidden how east proverb speaks!

– You fly on the airplane? – asked Eagles.

– No, we go by an electric train – Miller answered.

– Such backwardness! To the air person did not stick to creep on the ground.

– Given rise to fly to creep is not able or as there…

– I on the way should take some material.

– Watch that Romanians did not hit you. On border most almost you will be groundless!

Miller rose.

– Well, children, it is time for me. Thanks for wishes and hot farewell. Before the road it is necessary to keep within, write some letters. Zoya, you directly to the station?

– It is short to me to gather – the girl answered.

– Eh, Zoyka, we will be deserted without you!

– Come to visit.

– Let’s arrive! Thanks! Farewell! Happy journey!

– Farewell! Farewell!

The modest junket terminated. Miller returned to himself to a small room on the fifth floor.

– To you letter, Leopold Ivanovich! – the elderly woman, Miller’s neighbor in the apartment told.

The letter was from mother.

“Dear Leva! – Elvira Karlovna wrote with bold, sprawling handwriting. – I do not know that I have more, to rejoice or grieve. I am glad to your termination of institute and appointment. You are an engineer. Found the way. But unless there are no good places on the earth? Why offered you such service? At you the head can begin to spin, and you will fall from your air mill. I would prefer that you were as your father, the simple repairman, but the terrestrial, but not air engineer. It is dangerous. And I will not understand why it is necessary. Explain you to me, please, the silly old woman why it was impossible to install your car on the earth? Wind blows everywhere. You write about Zoya. She is a good girl. And to the girl did not stick on air snakes at all to live. And it there! Would marry it and lived on the earth as all people. And that the grandson will be born, and will not have a look at him. Not to climb to me, the old woman, under clouds!”

“And it about the same! – smiling, Miller thought. – About the children born in the sky…”

“And one more disturbs me – continued to write mother. – At us speak about war. And if there is a war yes the Romanian or Polish airplanes will arrive? And you on your attached kite and have no place to disappear. At your sphere will shoot, as at the hanging bottle in a dash. And you have no place to disappear. On the earth after all it is safer also during war”…

Levka leaned back on a chair back, thought and wrote to mother:

“Mutti! You ask me why people needed suit the cars “in the sky”. I will try to explain so that it was clear to you.