Mikhail Bulgakov. The Fateful Eggs -
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shouting over it at the wall:
"I wash my hands of the whole business!"
Going back to the table, he picked up the warrant, read it once from
top to bottom over his spectacles, then from bottom to top through them, and
suddenly howled:
"Pankrat!"
Pankrat appeared in the doorway as if he had shot up through the
trap-door in an opera. Persikov glared at him and barked:
"Go away, Pankrat!" And Pankrat disappeared, his face not expressing
the slightest surprise.
Then Persikov turned to the newcomer and said:
"I beg your pardon. I will obey. It's none of my business.
And of no interest to me."
The newcomer was not so much offended as taken aback.
"Excuse me," he began, "but comrade..."
"Why do you keep saying comrade all the time," Persikov muttered, then
fell silent.
"Well, I never," was written all over Feight's face.
"Pard..." "Alright then, here you are," Persikov interrupted him.
"See this arc lamp. From this you obtain by moving the eyepiece,"
Persikov clicked the lid of the chamber, like a camera, "a beam which you
can collect by moving the lenses, number 1 here... and the mirror, number
2." Persikov put the ray out, then lit it again on the floor of the asbestos
chamber. "And on the floor you can put anything you like and experiment with
it. Extremely simple, is it not?"
Persikov intended to express irony and contempt, but the newcomer was
peering hard at the chamber with shining eyes and did not notice them.
"Only I warn you," Persikov went on. "You must not put your hands in
the ray, because from my observations it causes growths of the epithelium.
And whether they are malignant or not, I unfortunately have not yet had time
to establish."
Hereupon the newcomer quickly put his hands behind his back, dropping
his leather cap, and looked at the Professor's hands. They were stained with