I about this masking had a dissenting opinion: if as could excite curiosity of natives, so it is rods. I knew well that on three tens kilometers there was around neither river, nor the lake where fish would be found. Fortunately, the village as if became extinct – all were at field works. To us only one ancient old woman who crept out met to get warm in the sun. Having seen rods, she long saw off us the surprised eyes, having slightly opened a toothless mouth.
We went beyond a village fence and vigorously walked to the so-called old ground remote of kilometer on four from a small village. Here once there were military of the camp. The huge field overgrown with weeds, on the one hand was fenced with the lop-sided old fence, with another – became isolated an earth shaft. Near a fence and behind it huge heaps of dry horse manure towered. Wagner stopped near these «Augean stables», threw rods and took seat on a suitcase. He all road kept silence. I was burned with curiosity, but did not ask, knowing that Wagner himself will reveal to me the secret soon. And this moment came… The beginning was unexpected.
– How it seems to you whether the person is well made? It seems to me, badly. Worse than a flea. You laugh? In vain. A flea – an insignificant insect. So. And she jumps in tens and hundreds of times are higher than the growth. The person – a universe wreath – jumps in height on two meters and in length at three-four meters, the most bigger. Unless it is not offensive for human dignity?
– And you decided to correct this injustice of the nature? – I asked Wagner, beginning to guess.
– Yes, I dare to think that I will manage to correct this subquality work. The person learned to cross oceans, to rise in air, to skate, ski, get on smooth cable columns. Why don’t it learn to jump in a flea way if not in hundreds then is tens times higher also further the growth? How? Using the muscular force of hands and legs and small adaptation.
Wagner opened a suitcase and took out four springs resembling matratsny from there. Springs were attached to plates, on plates there were belts. Two springs were big – for hands – the inventor explained – and two it is less – foot. Wagner quickly tied plate belts with springs to legs and asked me that I helped to bind springs on hands.
– All this is still primitive. Test of the principle. The main difficulty – to calculate balance – he said while I tightened to it belts. – I thank you. Now you will help me to get on a fence. Here we and an oar need.
The newborn person flea got on a fence. To be more exact, I with own hand raised and seated him as with the springs it was absolutely helpless.
– Well – with, so, we begin. Attention! Time, two, three!. – Wagner jumped. The spring on a leg was hooked for the acting fence board, and the inventor fell sideways.
– Better luck next time – he good-natured told.
– Judging by your cones and scratches, it is not the first pancake – I noticed.
– On these springs – the first. Latest model. Help me to rise, please, and again to climb up a fence.
It became tiresome.
– So, we begin.
– We continue – I corrected.
– All question in successfully to jump on all fours. It is easier for flea to jump, she has six legs – Wagner told. – And well, hop!
Already how it fell – the head down, I guessed that the jump will be unsuccessful again. And it is valid, the first blow – all weight of a body – fell on hands. Threw Wagner up and back. Having described an arch, he disappeared behind a fence.
I found the unlucky inventor on a heap of horse manure. Wagner lay on a back and pottered about as a bug who vainly tried to turn over on legs. To my astonishment, Wagner’s face brightened with pleasure.
– Springs, springs what, and? As threw! This time there will be a sense.
And, when Wagner jumped for the third time, there was a sense. Even, perhaps, bigger, than the inventor expected. «Flea» managed to fall by all four legs and to make a jump. Wagner, apparently, used muscles of legs as the second jump was higher and farther. The third, fourth is even better. And suddenly I heard uneasy shout:
– Hold me! I cannot stop!
Unfortunate! He also did not think of it. I rushed behind it, but where there! Wagner as a huge flea, huge jumps quickly moved away from me. The high earth shaft blocked it a way. The jumper could not turn aside. Some more jumps – and Wagner hit the head against an earth shaft, turned over head over heels and fell.
– I did not punch a hole in earth to a shaft? – slowly, hardly moving language, Wagner when recovered asked me. He still could joke.
* * *
I did not see Wagner several years. Unexpectedly he reminded of himself, having called by phone. He invited me to himself to the dacha so simply as if we left it only yesterday.
«There are news. If you allow, I will come for you on the car».
Did not pass also hour as I already went with Wagner by his car on the magnificent highway Moscow – Minsk. Externally Wagner changed a little, only his beard became as though is longer and more dense. He drove the covered car of the extended, well streamline shape. The car flew with such speed that I could hardly distinguish counter bridges, beautiful hotels standing at the road in picturesque corners – on woody hills or on the river bank. After an hour of such mad driving Wagner reduced speed, turned from the highway to the good highway, about half an hour flew with a speed of fifty kilometers per hour and, at last, stopped near a lonely cottage.
– Here we and houses.
We have hastily breakfast in the cozy dining room with a wide Venetian window. Wagner unexpectedly took out from where from under a table the massive glass and stretched to me:
– Hold!
I accepted a glass and was very surprised, without having felt its weight. Put on a table, but did not manage to unclench fingers as a glass flew up to a ceiling and there remained. Has to be, I had a comic because Wagner burst out laughing look and told:
– Well and a look at you! Though on the screen. However from what you will drink apple cider? Are guilty. I have no other glasses.
– You, maybe, after all explain to me, professor, this focus? – I asked.
– I am not a conjurer and not the wizard – he as though having a little taken offense answered.
– The glass was, apparently, metal. In a ceiling there was probably a hidden magnet. I guessed or not?
– Everything will speak in due time. Weather is excellent, to an idemta to breathe clean air. But before I want to weigh you on scales. – He weighed me, for some reason suggested to put 800 grams in a pocket of the weight weighing 1 kilogram and told: Punktum.
We left the house and went to a big field which was seen behind a birchwood. It seemed to me that among the field there is a lake: between white trunks of birches I saw a brilliant surface, and, having only approached closer, I was convinced of the mistake: the most part of the field was covered as if with brilliant felt, equal and smooth. Published this «carpet» with opaque gloss of light gray color it was similar to a water surface.
Wagner safely walked on «lake», I is absolutely timid – behind it. In the middle of «carpet» the area several honeycombs of square meters I saw a small cross as it seemed to me. When we approached it closer, it turned out that one «crosspiece» represented a crack in a carpet, and another – the bolt turned across a crack sitting on a core. From this central cross the brackets resembling door handles dispersed extensively.
Wagner turned a bolt so that it became against an opening. At the same moment I felt that we rise, as on the flying carpet.
– Hold brackets! – Wagner shouted to me. I grasped the handle, and in time as strongly rocked our «plane». Fortunately, wind gusts did not repeat any more, and we so smoothly rose that I could not get off impression as if not we go up, and the earth, the field, a birchwood, Wagner’s dacha slowly fall.
– Our flying carpet would rise quicker if not the resistance of air – Wagner told. He sat against me, holding the bracket similar to the door handle. We were divided by a crack through which when the flying carpet was on the earth, the bolt holding the plane from rise as an anchor was passed.
– Yes, our aircraft of not too streamline shape; at least, when flying down – I responded, hardly forcing itself to speak: to such an extent this extraordinary adventure stunned me.
– Now you will not tell that over us a magnet which attracts us? – Wagner asked, having cunning blinked blue eyes.
– Alas, it is higher than my understanding – I answered. Wagner loudly laughed loudly.
– A difficult task – at last he told. – You can imagine that I invented some kevorit-screen protecting bodies from terrestrial inclination. But kevorit – the most blank and impracticable imagination. You could imagine that I loaded our flying carpet with electricity, of the same name with a terrestrial charge, and the flying carpet jumped aside from the earth as a buzinny ball…
– I imagine nothing – I objected. – Now interests me as highly we will rise. We are dressed as in summer, and we have no oxygen devices.
– You can be absolutely quiet – Wagner answered. – Carrying power of our flying carpet is very small. Its ceiling has only two-three hundred meters. You see, our rise is already slowed down. And when there will come evening, temperature will go down, humidity of air will increase, and our flying carpet will begin to descend. My calculation is absolutely exact. Punktum. Not without reason I verified your weight. There now. For now… we have a lot more time, and I can explain you a secret of our flying carpet… You watch how many boys ran together to look at us. And from where only they undertake?. Shout, wave caps…
Slowly carried us for a grove. The river and crowd of children passed out of sight ashore soon.
– And so – Wagner continued – all these miracles were born from scientific works on physics of thin films, little-known to general public. I advise you to get acquainted with this subject. In sum, our flying carpet is made of a so-called firm chain. This body consisting of a set of cells bubbles. Alloy of magnesium and beryllium. The size of cells is less than one millimeter, and thickness of walls – one ten-thousand millimeter. Emptiness of cells are filled with hydrogen. At a thickness of walls – thin films – in one thousand millimeter weightless material already turns out, and at a thickness of one ten-thousand as at us, metal becomes flying. At the known size of the flying carpet from such metal it, as you can see, can lift not only itself (himself), but also additional freight. Forgive, but I will take off boots – got used to go at the dacha barefoot – he interrupted the explanations, took off boots and put near himself. – So – he told…
But at this moment it is unknown from where flew a wind gust, rocked our flying carpet, boots departed on the earth, the facilitated plane rushed up. Wagner screamed, and this shout resembled groan more. I understood: alas, now we will not be helped by neither night dampness, nor fall of temperature. We could not produce gas to decrease as aeronauts. Gas of our flying carpet was deeply hided in artificial «foamy» structure. We could not operate the movement of the plane neither down, nor across. We were helpless. We had no radio station. We had no stocks of food and water. This Wagner is a quite good inventor, but very impractical person. I was angry on it especially as to me thirst already having felt hungry and tormented.
– Whether our situation reminds you an old story of the person who took in head to jump in a flea way? – Wagner angrily breathed heavily, but kept silent. – There is nothing to tell, we got into pretty situation – I continued to saw it. – There can come the storm at night, our flying carpet will turn, and we will break. Or we will eat each other for hunger as castaway. Or we will die from thirst, and our bodies will be rasklevana birds…
Wagner loudly burst out laughing.
– I did not know that you such cheerful person also are able to joke in the most difficult circumstances! – sincerely he told, and it became a shame to me. – But our situation not so tragic as it seems to you. Fortunately, my flying carpet is welded from solid foam which is pretty fragile. We can break off pieces from our carpet, it will decrease in sizes and will fall as the raft under excessive weight falls. It is rather for work!
Wagner began to break off pieces of porous foam, since edges of a crack in the center of a carpet. I followed its example. We threw the broken-off pieces aside and down, but they steadily emerged upward and vanished somewhere in blue of the sky.
– Alloy expensive, is a pity to lose these pieces, but my familiar pilots will catch them in network. All these pieces will fly at one height, it is not higher than ten kilometers. You see, we already decrease. Some more pieces… Wait to throw, under us, apparently, the lake. Indeed. It is necessary to drop the ballast. Take off boots!
We safely landed in thickets of a hazel grove and bound braces and belts the spoiled flying carpet that it did not depart. Came back home barefoot, hungry and excited…
Devil’s mill
– Directly from the station it is passed through all settlement the big street – Soviet. On it you also go. Dachas will terminate, the field road will begin, go on it by the sports ground down, to the small river. The small river will also have a village of Stryabtsy. Go down the street on the left all the way villages. The second house at the left – pay attention to huge oak gate – it is and there will be my giving. The hostess, Anna Tarasovna Tulikova, lives on a mill in the summer. And to a mill no distance. Just in case you descend to the hostess on bow – she is a woman strict. Tell that you came to visit me, you will spend the night and that I will arrive later.
With such parting words Ivan Stepanovich Wagner supplied me, inviting to himself to the dacha situated near Moscow. This year professor Wagner lived in Moscow as the trust of exact mechanics by its order finished a construction of some difficult device and Wagner’s presence it was necessary. Wagner spent nearly all free time in trust workshops, seldom coming out to the dacha. But this day – Saturday – works in workshops terminated early, and Wagner promised me to arrive and spend with me Sunday.
I without effort found Wagner’s dacha and went to get acquainted with Tarasovna. Despite evening, was very hot. The summer and fall that year were exclusively hot. The small rivulet Ilevka on which there was Tarasovna’s mill absolutely dried up. Without reaching a mill yet, I heard a female voice of force and height extraordinary. The voice is this, belonging to the widow Tulikova, it was remembered to me well – it directly contused eardrums. Besides Tarasovna had ability to issue so many words in a minute that even the awarded stenographer would not be able to write down and half. This time Tarasovna brought down all the machine-gun eloquence on the head of the peasant who brought rye for a grinding. The peasant scratched a shaggy beard, and Tarasovna, упершись fists in wide hips, shouted:
– You do not see, perhaps? Chicken fords the small river, and it – to grind! Here frogs took rest from the land, and you – to grind! A samovar to put waters you will not gather, and it – to grind! Yesterday the Bug drank up the last water, and you – to grind!.
«And it – to grind», «and you – to grind» – sounded as a refrain. The peasant listened long and attentively, then grunted and began to gather in a way back.