Part 24 (1/2)
”The police know everything,” said Rouletabille coldly. And he asked for champagne, which he never drank.
The champagne commenced its work. While Thaddeus and the officers told each other stories of Bakou or paid compliments to the women, Gounsovski, who was through with raillery, leaned toward Rouletabille and gave that young man fatherly counsel with great unction.
”You have undertaken, young man, a n.o.ble task and one all the more difficult because General Treba.s.sof is condemned not only by his enemies but still more by the ignorance of Koupriane. Understand me thoroughly: Koupriane is my friend and a man whom I esteem very highly. He is good, brave as a warrior, but I wouldn't give a kopeck for his police. He has mixed in our affairs lately by creating his own secret police, but I don't wish to meddle with that. It amuses us. It's the new style, anyway; everybody wants his secret police nowadays. And yourself, young man, what, after all, are you doing here? Reporting? No. Police work? That is our business and your business. I wish you good luck, but I don't expect it. Remember that if you need any help I will give it you willingly. I love to be of service. And I don't wish any harm to befall you.”
”You are very kind, monsieur,” was all Rouletabille replied, and he called again for champagne.
Several times Gounsovski addressed remarks to Annouchka, who concerned herself with her meal and had little answer for him.
”Do you know who applauded you the most this evening?”
”No,” said Annouchka indifferently.
”The daughter of General Treba.s.sof.”
”Yes, that is true, on my word,” cried Ivan Petrovitch.
”Yes, yes, Natacha was there,” joined in the other friends from the datcha des Iles.
”For me, I saw her weep,” said Rouletabille, looking at Annouchka fixedly.
But Annouchka replied in an icy tone:
”I do not know her.”
”She is unlucky in having a father...” Prince Galitch commenced.
”Prince, no politics, or let me take my leave,” clucked Gounsovski. ”Your health, dear Annouchka.”
”Your health, Gounsovski. But you have no worry about that.”
”Why?” demanded Thaddeus Tchitchnikoff in equivocal fas.h.i.+on.
”Because he is too useful to the government,” cried Ivan Petrovitch.
”No,” replied Annouchka; ”to the revolutionaries.”
All broke out laughing. Gounsovski recovered his slipping gla.s.ses by his usual quick movement and sn.i.g.g.e.red softly, insinuatingly, like fat boiling in the pot:
”So they say. And it is my strength.”
”His system is excellent,” said the prince. ”As he is in with everybody, everybody is in with the police, without knowing it.”
”They say... ah, ah... they say...” (Athanase was choking over a little piece of toast that he had soaked in his soup) ”they say that he has driven away all the hooligans and even all the beggars of the church of Kasan.”
Thereupon they commenced to tell stories of the hooligans, street-thieves who since the recent political troubles had infested St. Petersburg and whom n.o.body, could get rid of without paying for it.
Athanase Georgevitch said:
”There are hooligans that ought to have existed even if they never have. One of them stopped a young girl before Varsovie station. The girl, frightened, immediately held out her purse to him, with two roubles and fifty kopecks in it. The hooligan took it all. 'Goodness,' cried she, 'I have nothing now to take my train with.' 'How much is it?' asked the hooligan. 'Sixty kopecks.' 'Sixty kopecks! Why didn't you say so?' And the bandit, hanging onto the two roules, returned the fifty-kopeck piece to the trembling child and added a ten-kopeck piece out of his own pocket.”