A strange impression was made by these ruins of times of the Roman dominion by ancient Lutetia which got lost among houses of Latin quarter. Ranks of stone half-ruined benches on which the audience once clapped, enjoying bloody entertainments, black failures of adits where hungry animals before an exit to the arena growled… And around such usual, boring Parisian houses, with the wood of pipes on roofs and hundreds of windows, it is indifferent looking at pathetic ruins of former greatness…
Travelers stopped.
Them was three: Anatole, the boy of years of ten, thin, dark-haired, with the stiffened question in sad eyes; his uncle Bernard de Troyes, «the silk king», and his wife Clothilda. Only Clothilda’s persistence forced her husband to give up urgent affairs and to undertake this «scientific expedition» – a new whim of the young woman who was fond of archeology.
Madam de Troyes, appear, was fascinated by a show. Her thin nostrils shuddered. Several times the nervous movement of a hand it put the disobedient lock of a nutbrown hair which was beaten out from under the gray silk hat decorated with a little white bird in order.
– It is necessary to force to tell these stones! – she exclaimed at last. – We made a mistake. We should arrive at night when the moon shines. The moon will bring shades of the past to life, and before us magic pictures will be developed. We will hear sounds букцин – the Roman military pipes. One their thunderous roar brought into flight of enemies… Pipes will begin to sound, and in reply to them the roar of the hungry animals who scented human meat will be distributed, and we will see how Caesar… ah… oh…
Clotilda de Troyes desperately screamed. The unexpected event interrupted poetic flight of her imagination.
Some person of years of twenty five, high, put as Hercules, with a fair-haired small beard and moustaches on a bronze face, imperceptibly crept to it and the bystry movement broke a white bird from her hat, broke off it on small pieces, bewildered began to touch fingers cotton wool shreds which filled a bird.
His eyes… Despite all fright, Clothilda could not but notice these eyes, their extraordinary blueness, brightness. In them some strange fire burned. It was no madness fire, but at the same time in eyes there was something strange that she never had to meet In them vigilance of an animal and naivety of the child. It would be possible to call a face of the stranger beautiful if not outstanding nadbrovny arches, deeply put eyes and wide nostrils. It was without hat the Long and thick fair hair covered his head.
All froze with this unclear trick of the stranger. But in the next minute Bernard de Troyes rushed to him, swinging a stick. The stranger, showing a mouth in the wide smile opening his fine strong teeth accepted it as a game. It as if teased de Troyes, running up to it and dodging from blows with dexterity and natural grace of a young panther.
And from the street some person already ran, swinging hands.
– Adam, back! – he as though on a dog shouted.
The light-haired giant reluctantly, but obediently stopped a game, having stepped aside with some muffled growl. At the same moment from other corner the police officer involved with shouts approached.
– I bring my apologies! – the person who recalled Adam shouted still from a distance, swinging a hat. – Allow to assure you that there was no evil intention. May I introduce myself… Professor of Sorbonne of department of archeology and paleontology Augustus Likorn. And this Adam… I will explain to you now…
But the become angry «silk king» wanted to hear nothing.
– This disgrace! To offend the woman…
– But allow to explain…
– Any explanations! – And, stretching to the hand shivering with anger and nervousness the business card to the police officer, de Troyes told: – Here my card and address. I ask to write down these misters and to bring the matters into court. We go!
He took the wife by an arm, nodded to Anatole, ordering it to follow himself, and quickly walked to the varnished car waiting them black.
When the fine limousine silently started at way, Anatole turned back also with children’s curiosity, looked with fear and admiration at the strange person who broke a bird from the aunt Klo’s hat.
Professor Likorn, having turned from Italyansky Boulevard into the small street Pille-Vil, shortened a stride. After noise of the boulevard the silence of this small street struck hearing. It was the silence of the temple, is more right – pagan temples of the Golden Calf. There live millionaires. Gloomy multi-storey buildings with lattices at windows of the first floor unfriendly look at rare passersby.
– It seems, … here – Professor Likorn, worrying, pressed the button of an electric call which is put in order in a grin of the bronze lion’s head. The silent door-keeper slowly opened a door, let in professor the lobby filled with plants with the big, standing at an entrance bear and called upward.
On the wide ladder covered with a dark red carpet the servant went down. Likorn stretched it the business card.
– Mister de Troyes of the house? I would like to see it on private business.
– Mister de Troyes accepts on personal records on Thursday and Saturday of nine hours twenty minutes to ten o’clock in the morning. Today you can see only his secretary.
At this moment on a ladder Clotilda de Troyes in a gray coat and a silk hat with a white bird at a board seemed. Likorn bowed and stepped aside, passing it to an exit.
Clotilda de Troyes kindly answered bow. She recognized Likorn:
– Professor Likorn! You to the husband? It is absent. What brought you here? Whether history with a bird on my hat? You see, the bird sits in the place again. Means, everything is all right.
– I really came to talk to mister de Troyes concerning that unpleasant incident which took place…
– Well, talk to me. Eventually, not the husband, and I appeared as «victim». Means, all this history – my personal record. Professor goes with me.
The servant hasty approached Likorn and respectfully took off a coat.
Likorn hardly kept up with Clothilda who quickly walked upstairs.
– Our acquaintance was started quite originally, isn’t that so? – with the same kind smile Clothilda addressed Likorn when they took seat in a drawing room in easy chairs.
– Yes – he confusedly answered – it is original, though it is not absolutely pleasant both for you, and for me. The police made the protocol, and business will be brought to trial.
