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. And you what you will do?
– I will receive money – Ji Zi answered quietly.
Valkov decided that the woman can be useful in the house on economy, and Ji Zi will start working sooner or later, and agreed to accept Pun who implicitly put on a diving mask and followed the husband in ocean waters. Also implicitly it would follow for it even “to the country of shadows”.
Пунь it was extremely useful member of underwater colony. She cooked a dinner, washed the dishes, the floors, washed clothes, directed purity and still managed to help men with their work outdoors. But Ji Zi of absolutely nothing did not do, except for receiving a salary.
He for days on end rolled on a bed, smoked a tubule. Once Volkov specified to the Korean that he the smoking cuts the cheese. Ji Zi told nothing, put on a diving mask and went to the coast. What it did there, it was unknown. Possibly, in good days lay on the coast. But by a lunch it was accurately.
– Hi, Pun what you to us heaped up today? – Vanyushka addressed the cook, looking in pots and frying pans. A sea cabbage, sauce probably too from seaweed, trepangs, ivas, still some pryano sauce smelling of unknown herbs…
– Halas of a navaratil! – cheerfully Pun answered, shaking a frying pan.
– Shchets! – Vanyushka sighed, but Pun did not understand him and began to come true in something.
She suddenly very quickly started talking in Korean, and its thin voice was distributed as bird’s chatter.
– All right! – patronizing Vanyushka answered and went to library. Walls of this room were forced by bookcases. Konobeev sat at a round table, having bent over the illustrated magazine.
– The mastodon reading the latest political news! – Vanyushka, увидав the old man behind such “improper” occupation burst out laughing. Really, with the bulky body, a huge beard, hands which were capable to strangle a shark but not to address with the book, it somehow did not approach this situation.
– Look, however – Konobeev told, with improbable efforts overturning the korneobrazny not bent fingers the page of the magazine.
– The crab better you would move sheets. What to watch, however? – Vanyushka asked.
Konobeev showed on a picture of the flying airplane.
– Fly, however!
– Well and that? – Vanyushka asked, without having understood that Konobeev in soul continues to argue with the old woman, asserting the right to live under water. And, without expecting