The Master and Margarita / Мастер и Маргарита. Книга для чтения на английском языке

“But he isn’t at home. I sent Karpov earlier. There’s nobody at the apartment.”

“The devil knows what’s going on,” hissed Rimsky, clicking away on the adding machine.

The door opened, and an usher dragged in a thick bundle of newly printed additional playbills. On the green sheets, in large red letters, was printed:

TODAY AND EVERY DAY

AT THE VARIETY THEATRE

AN ADDITION TO THE PROGRAMME

PROFESSOR WOLAND

PERFORMANCES OF BLACK MAGIC

WITH ITS COMPLETE EXPOSURE

Stepping back from the playbill he had thrown over the model, Varenukha admired it for a moment and ordered the usher to have all copies pasted up immediately.

“It’s good, garish,” remarked Varenukha after the usher’s departure.

“Well, I find this undertaking displeasing in the extreme,” grumbled Rimsky, casting malicious looks at the playbill through horn-rimmed spectacles, “and in general I’m surprised he’s been allowed to put it on!”

“No, Grigory Danilovich, you can’t say that: it’s a very shrewd move. The whole point here is the exposure.”

“I don’t know, I don’t know, there’s no point here at all, and he’ll always go thinking up something of the sort! He could at least have shown us this magician. You, have you seen him? Where he dug him up from the devil only knows!”

It transpired that Varenukha, just like Rimsky, had not seen the magician. The day before, Styopa had come running (“like a madman” in Rimsky’s expression) to the Financial Director with a draft agreement already written, had ordered him there and then to copy it out and to issue the money. And this magician had cleared off[239 - to clear off – смываться, убираться], and nobody had seen him except Styopa himself.

Rimsky took out his watch, saw that it said five past two, and flew into an absolute fury. Really! Likhodeyev had rung at about eleven o’clock, said he would be arriving in half an hour, and not only had he not arrived, he had also vanished from his apartment!

“My work’s being held up[240 - to hold up a work – дело задерживается, дело стоит]!” Rimsky was now growling, jabbing his finger at a heap of unsigned papers.

“He hasn’t fallen under a tram, like Berlioz, has he?” said Varenukha, holding up to his ear a receiver in which could be heard ringing tones, rich, prolonged and completely hopeless.

“That would be a good thing, actually…” said Rimsky, scarcely audibly through his teeth.

At that very moment a woman came into the office wearing a uniform jacket, peaked cap, a black skirt and soft shoes. From a small bag on her belt the woman took a little white square and a notebook and asked:

“Who’s Variety? Super-lightning for you. Signature.”

Varenukha dashed off some sort of squiggle in the woman’s notebook and, as soon as the door had slammed behind her, he opened up the little square.

Having read the telegram, he blinked his eyes a bit and passed the little square to Rimsky.

Printed in the telegram was the following: “Yalta. Moscow. Variety. Today half eleven appeared CID nightshirted trousered bootless mental brunet claimed Likhodeyev Director Variety. Lightning-wire Yalta CID whereabouts Director Likhodeyev.”

“Well I never!” exclaimed Rimsky, and added: “Another surprise!”

“A False Dmitry,”[241 - a False Dmitry: Grigory Otrepyev became the figurehead for the opposition to the rule of Boris Godunov in 1604, when he claimed to be Dmitry, a son of Ivan the Terrible believed to have died in 1591. He was hailed as tsar after Godunov’s death in 1605, but was deposed and killed the following year. (Комментарий И. Беспалова)] Varenukha said, and began speaking into the mouthpiece of the telephone: “Telegraph Office? The Variety’s account. Take a super-lightning. Are you listening?. “Yalta CID. Director Likhodeyev Moscow. Financial Director Rimsky’.”

Regardless of the communication about the impostor in Yalta, Varenukha once more set about hunting for Styopa on the telephone anywhere and everywhere, and naturally could find him nowhere.

At the precise time when Varenukha, holding the receiver in his hand, was pondering over where else he might phone, that same woman who had brought the first lightning telegram came in and handed Varenukha a new little envelope. Opening it hurriedly, Varenukha read through what was printed on it and then whistled.

“What else?” asked Rimsky with a nervous jerk.

Varenukha handed him the telegram in silence, and the Financial Director saw in it the words: “Implore believe. Cast Yalta by hypnosis Woland. Lightning-wire CID confirmation identity. Likhodeyev”.

Rimsky and Varenukha reread the telegram with their heads touching, and when they had reread it, they stared at one another in silence.

“Citizens!” the woman suddenly grew angry. “Sign for it, and then you can be silent for as long as you like! It’s lightning telegrams I’m delivering, you know.”

Without taking his eyes off the telegram, Varenukha dashed off a wonky signature in the notebook and the woman disappeared.

“But you were talking to him on the telephone just after eleven?” began the manager in complete bewilderment.