Both cooks, and farit, and washes clothes, and washes the floor.
– Washes the floor? Under water?
– Yes that you, really think that at us everything is filled in with water – both floors, and beds, and samovarny pipes? Anything similar! To the land, than in your fanza. Eh, here it is just bad: is not able to cook a dinner of Pun in an our way. As will weld on the Korean kufaniye – only one Ji Zi and bursts with appetite. And if you, Marfa Zakharovna, to us ff made how, you remember, ugoffyal me? I still lick fingers. You to us would cook yes faril and pies fish baked with a fish stuffing and pelmeni…
The praise worked – Marfa Zakharovna was softened, but going down under water, and did not want to hear.
– Come itself here pelmeni are – she answered, having smiled.
– However it is time for us – Konobeev told and began to put on himself a mask and diving vestments.
– My eyes would not look at you! – swinging the head, the old woman told.
– Anything special, however – Konobeev answered and went from Vanyushkaya to the coast towards to the flying waves. Waves roared, foam hissed on sand, splashes flew a rain, and Konobeev safely went forward.
– Hold me! – he shouted Vanyushke when they approached a breakwater. Vanyushka grasped a powerful hand of the old man. The first wave drenched them and nearly brought down from legs.
Having inclined the heads, having nestled to each other, Konobeev and Toporkov were rushed forth. Waves covered them. For a moment the shaggy gray-haired head of Makar Ivanovich seemed once again and disappeared.
Marfa Zakharovna, having put red hands on a round stomach, inclined the round red face. Lips were bent; she was ready to begin to cry. And a dog Hunguz, having approached the water, suddenly raised a muzzle and began to howl. Then angrily began a bark on waves and began to run on the coast, as if wishing to rush after left under water. And again raised a howl, plaintively and lingeringly…
Chapter 3
UNDER FIVE DOMES
It is difficult to move towards on an ocean floor to inflow. It is more difficult, than on the ground against wind during a storm. Konobeev bent the head and rammed it the elastic moving mass of water. And Vanyushka went on the tow, holding hands hips of the old man giant.
When went down in an underwater hollow, at once it became more silent. Here only water “breeze” was felt. Vanyushka was unhooked from Konobeev and raised the head up. The sun was above them the shining indistinct spot. Nervousness on a surface prevented to see sharply outlined sphere as it happened during a calm.
“Midday. It is time to have dinner” – Vanyushka thought.
And at this moment the bell sound was heard. Under water it was heard very distinctly. The bell rang out twelve. In a greenish haze the spark flickered. It the beacon on a roof of the underwater dwelling shone. It was extinguished only when all were assembled. Konobeev straightened a back and quickly went to light. Vanyushka hardly kept up with the leader.
Through the wood of long seaweed light of a beacon inflamed more and more brightly as travelers moved forward. Vanyushka many times already admired an underwater landscape – and could not admire. As though it got on the unknown planet where all other. Long strips, tapes, cords, ropes of brown seaweed quietly fluctuated, coiling as dozing snakes, the flexible bodies. Among these tapes stretched as the serpentine, wide palmlike leaves of laminarias were sharply allocated.
It was possible to distinguish already and the underwater dwelling soon. From a distance it reminded five domes hemispheres of the Byzantine church: as though the temple failed to the earth to the domes. The house stood in the valley between two cross heights which protected from sea “winds” – inflow and an outflow.
Here it was always silent.
Bright light of an underwater searchlight brought together a great number of the fishes who were darting about between seaweed as raznopery birds in the rainforest. Only these birds were silent.
Travelers entered an iron chamber and densely closed behind themselves a door. Vanyushka turned the crane, and water began to go to a pipe. In five minutes strong pumps exempted the camera from water; other pumps filled it with air. Vanyushka and Konobeev took off diving kostima and wet clothes, changed clothes and entered through iron and wooden doors a wooden izba. They were at home.
Under an average, “the public building” from four rooms was the biggest, a dome. In one the general dining room, in another – kitchen from the storeroom, in the third – a reading room and in the fourth – the engine room was located.
Around this big central dome with a beacon four smaller were located. The dome with an exit door directed to the coast was called western. It covered with itself (himself) an izba to two rooms in which Toporkov and Volkov were located. Then followed: a northern dome – there lived the cook Pun and her husband Ji Zi; western – in two rooms of this izba Konobeev and Guzik were located; and, at last, southern – in this dome there were two rooms: one – Guzik’s laboratory workshop, and another – spare – for “visitors” where sometimes spent the night coming from the coast on affairs to Volkov and Guzik.
Vanyushka left to the dining room. It, except an exit door, had two more: directly – in kitchen and to the left – in a reading room. In this room, as well as in other rooms of the central house, there were no windows at all. The strong electric lamp under a ceiling well lit the big, laid by the Chinese pure cloth table with six devices and six stools at a table. Some more spare stools stood at walls. Near a door in kitchen, the wall had a buffet of the Karelian birch; on a round little table the big samovar, the best friend of Konobeev sparkled the polished sides.
In the dining room still was nobody. Vanyushka pulled a nose, frowned and went to kitchen.
At the electric stove small with high cheek-bones Pun in a blue dress and a white apron pottered. Her jet-black hard hair was smoothly combed and collected behind in the bunch which is chopped off by two hairpins with balls on the ends.
History of its emergence in underwater colony was such is. Volkov employed for work of Korean Ji Zi, or – on the Korean pronunciation – Kye Tsa. Agreed about a payment. Ji Zi received a deposit and in the appointed day was with the girlfriend of life which introduced:
– Пунь.
– Why “Pun”? – Volkov who knew that he “пунь” is a small Korean coin asked.
– Is not necessary to Bolsa – Ji Zi answered.
– And you how many you stand? – asked, smiling, Volkov.
– Hundred пунь will be nurses, and ten nurses will be sink. Here how many I stand. Kan! – Ji Zi answered.
– But why you brought the wife? – Volkov asked, glancing at the woman who was obediently standing near the lord.
Ji Zi was surprised to a question and in perplexity shrugged shoulders:
– As, what for? That it worked.
– But I employed you.
