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Файл:The Legacy and Other Stories (Завещание и другие рассказы). Учебное пособие для студентов бакалавров, изучающих английский язык (второй год обучения),
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“WhydoyouhavetocleanthehousewhileI’mtryingtosleep?”
Hismother bent downagain. “I can’tuseit whileyou’re work
ing.Ican’tuseitwhileyou’rereading.Ican’tuseituntilteno’clock
in the morning because you’re sleeping.” She started the machine.
“WhenamIsupposedtocleanthehouse?”shecalledoverthenoise
ofthecleaner.“Whydon’tyou sleepatnight likeeverybody else?”
Andsheputherheaddownlowandranthemachineback
andforth.
Andrewwatchedherforamoment.Noargumentscametohim.
Thesoundofthecleaner soclosetohimmadehis nervesjump.He
wentoutoftheroom,closingthedoorbehindhim.
Thetelephonewasringingandhepickeditupandsaid,“Hello.”
“Ahndrew?”hisagent’svoiceasked.HisagentwasfromBrook
lyn,too,buthehadaverybroadA,withwhichheimpressedactors
andsponsors.
“Yes,thisisAhndrew.”Andrewalwaysmadethisstraightfaced
joke with his agent, but the agent never seemed to catch on. “You
didn’thavetocall.TheDustyBladesscriptsareallthrough.You’llget
themtomorrow.”
“Icalledaboutsomethingelse,Ahndrew,”hisagentsaid,hisvoice
verysmoothandinuentialonthephone.“Thecomplaintsarepiling
upontheBladesscripts.They’reasslowasgum.Nothingeverhap
pens.Ahndrew,you’renotwritingfortheAtlantic Monthly.”
“IknowI’mnotwritingfortheAtlantic Monthly.”
“Ithinkyou’veratherrunoutofmaterial,”hisagentsaidlight
ly, soothingly. “I think perhaps you ought to take a little vacation
fromtheBladesscripts.”
“Go to hell, Herman,” Andrew said, knowing that Herman had
foundsomebodytodothescriptsmorecheaplyforhim.
“That’shardlythewaytotalk,Ahndrew,”Hermansaid,hisvoice
stillsmooth,buthurt.“Afterall,Ihavetostandinthestudioandlisten
tothecomplaints.”
“Sad,Herman,”Andrewsaid.“That’sasadpicture,”and.
Herubbedthebackofhisneck,feelingagainthelittle
lumpbehindhisear.
41
Hewentintohisownroomandsatathis desk
atthenotesforhisplaythatlay,neatly piled, growing older,onone
side.Hetookout hischeckbookand hislastmonth’svouchersand
arrangedtheminfrontofhim.
“Onehundredandelevendollars,”he murmured, ashechecked
back and added and subtracted, his eyes smarting from the strain,
hishandsshakingalittlebecausethevacuumcleanerwasstillgoing
inhismother’sroom.Outontheathleticeldmoreboyshadarrived
andformedanineldandwerethrowingtheballaroundthebasesand
yellingateachother.
Dr.Chalmers, seventyve dollars.Thatwas for hismotherand
herstomach.
Eightydollars rent.Theroof overhis headequaled twoRonnie
Cook’sandHisFriends.Fivethousandwordsforrent.
Buddy was in the hands of Flacker. Flacker could torture him
forsixpages.ThenyoucouldhaveDustyBladesspeedingtotherescue
withSam,byboat,andtheboatcouldspringaleakbecausethedriver
wasinFlacker’spay,andtherecouldbeaghtforthenextsixpages.
Thedrivercouldhaveagun.Youcoulduseit,butitwouldn’tbeliked,
becauseyou’ddoneatleastfourlikeitalready.
Furniture,andahundredandthirtysevendollars.Hismotherhad
alwayswantedagooddiningroomtable.Shedidn’thaveamaid,she
said,so he oughtto get hera dining roomtable. How manywords
foradiningroomtable?
“Comeon,Baby,makeittwo,”thesecondbasemanoutоntheeld
wasyelling.“Double‘emup!”
Andrewfeltlikepickinguphisoldgloveandgoingthereandjoin
ingthem.WhenhewasstillincollegeheusedtogooutonaSaturday
atteno’clockinthemorningandshagiesandjumparoundthein
eldandrunandrunallday,playinginpickupgamesuntilitgottoo
darktosee.Hewasalwaystirednowandevenwhenheplayedtennis
hedidn’tmovehisfeetright,becausehewastired,andhitatfooted
andwild.
Spain,onehundreddollars.Oh,Lord.
42
Ahundredandftytohisfather,tomeethisfather’spayroll.His
fatherhadninepeopleonhispayroll,littletinthathis
fathertriedtoselltothe,andattheendofeverymonth
Andrewhadtomeetthepayroll.Hisfatheralwaysgravelymadeout
anotetohim.
Flacker is about to kill Buddy out of anger and desperation.
InburstsDusty,alone.Samishurt.Onthewaytothehospital.Buddy
isspiritedawayamomentbeforeDustyarrives.Flacker,verysmooth
and oily. Confrontation. “Where is Buddy, Flacker?” “You mean
thelittlelad?”“Imeanthelittlelad,Flacker!”
FiftydollarstoDorothy’spianoteacher.Hissister.Anotherplain
girl. She might as well learn how to play the piano. Then one day
they’dcometohimandsay,“Dorothyisreadyforherdebut.Allwe’re
askingyoutodoisrentTownHallforaWednesdayevening.Justad
vancethemoney.”She’dnevergetmarried.Shewastoosmartforthe
menwhowouldwantherandtooplainforthemenshe’dwantherself.
Shebought herdresses in Saks. He wouldhave tosupport, forlife,
asisterwhowould only buyherdressesin Saks andpaidherpiano
teacherftydollarsamontheverymonth.Shewasonlytwentyfour,
shewouldhaveanormalofatleastfortyyears,twelve
timesforty,plusdressesatSaksandTownHallfromtimetotime...
Hisfather’steeth—ninetydollars.Themoneyitcosttokeepaman
goinginhislosingghtagainstage.
The automobile. Nine hundred dollars. A ninehundreddollar
check looked very austere and impressive, like a penal institution.
Hewasgoingtogooffintheautomobile,ndaPlaceinthemoun
tains,writeaplay.Onlyhecouldnevergethimselffarenoughahead
onDustyBladesandRonnieCookandHisFriends.Twentythousand
wordsaweek,eachweek,recurringlikeSundayonthecalendar.How
manywordswasHamlet?Thirty,thirtyvethousand?
TwentythreedollarstoBest’s.ThatwasMartha’ssweaterforher
birthday. “Either you say yes or no,” Martha said
Saturday night.
“IwanttogetmarriedandI’vewaitedlongenough.”Ifyoumarried
youpaidrentintwoplaces,light,gas,telephonetwice,andyoubought
stockings,dresses,toothpaste,medicalattention,foryourwife.
43
Flackerplayedwithsomethinginhispocket.Dusty’shandshoots
out,grabshiswrist,pullshishandout.Buddy’slittlepenknife,which
Dusty had given him for a birthday present is in Flacker’s hand.
“Flacker,tellmewhereBuddyJonesis,orI’llkillyou
.”Agongrings.Flackerhassteppedonanalarm.Doorsopen
andtheroomllswithhishenchmen.
Twenty dollars to Macy’sfor books. Partington,Main Currents
of American Thought. HowdoesDustyBladestintotheMain Currents of American Thought?
TendollarstoDr.Farber.“Idon’tsleepatnight.Canyouhelpme?”
“Doyoudrinkcoffee?”
“Idrinkonecupofcoffeeinthemorning.That’sall.”
Pills,tobetakenbeforeretiring.Tendollars.Weransomourlives
fromdoctors’hands.
Ifyoumarry,youtakeanapartmentdowntownbecauseit’ssilly
toliveinBrooklynthisway;andyoubuy furniture, fourroomsfull
offurniture,beds,chairs,dishrags,relatives.Martha’sfamilywaspoor
andgettingnoyoungerandnallytherewouldbethreefamilies,with
rentandclothesanddoctorsandfunerals.
Andrewgotupandopenedtheclosetdoor.Init,stackedinles,
werethescriptshehadwritteninthelastfouryears.Theystretched
fromoneendofawideclosetacrosstoanother,bridgefromonewall
toanotherofamillionwords.Fouryears’work.
Nextscript.ThehenchmencloseinonDusty.Hehearsthesounds
ofBuddyscreaminginthenextroom...
Howmanyyearsmore?
Thevacuumcleanerroared.
MarthawasJewish.Thatmeantyou’dhavetolieyourwayinto
somehotels,ifyouwentatall,andyounevercouldescapefromone
particularmeannessoftheworldaroundyou;andwhenthebadtime
camethereyou’dbe,adriftonthatdangeroussea.
He sat down at his desk. One hundred dollars again to Spain.
Barcelonahadfallenandthelongdustylineswerebeatingtheirway
tothe French border with the planes overthem, and out of a sense
44
of guilt at not being on a dusty road, yourself, bloodyfooted and
infearofdeath,yougaveahundreddollars,feelingatthesametime
that it was too much and nothing you ever gave could be enough.
ThreeandathirdTheAdventures of Dusty Blades to the dead and
dyingofSpain.
Theworldloadsyoudaybydaywithnewburdensthatincrease
onyourshoulders. Lifta pound andyou nd you’recarrying aton.
“Marryme,”shesays,“marryme.”ThenwhatdoesDustydo?What
the hell can he do that he hasn’t done before? For ve afternoons
aweeknow,forayear,DustyhasbeeninFlacker’shands,orthehands
ofsomebodyelsewhoisFlackerbuthasanothername,andeachtime
hehasescaped.Hownow?
Thevacuumroaredinthehallwayoutsidehisroom.
“Mom!”heyelled.“Pleaseturnthatthingoff!”
“Whatdidyousay?”hismothercalled.
“Nothing.”
Headdedupthebank balances.Hisguresshowedthat he was
four hundred and twelve dollars overdrawn instead of one hundred
andelevendollars,asthebanksaid.Hedidn’tfeellikeaddingthe
guresover.Heputthevouchersandthebank’ssheetintoanenvelope
forhis.
“Hititout,Charlie!”aboycalledontheeld.“Makeitafastone!”
Andrewfelt like going out and playing withthem. He changed
his clothes and put on a pair of old spikes that were lying in back
ofthecloset.Hisoldpantsweretightonhim.Fat. If he ever let go,
if anything happened and he couldn’t exercise he’d blow up like
ahouse,ifhegotsickandhadtolieinbedandconvalesce….May
be Dusty has a knife in a holster up his sleeve…. How plant that?
Therent,thefood,thepianoteacher,thepeopleatSakswhosoldhis
sisterdresses,thenimblegirlswho painted thetingadgetsinhisfa
ther’sshop,theteethinhisfather’smouth,thedoctors,thedoctors,all
livingonthewordsthatwouldhavetocomeoutofhishead.Seehere,
Flacker,Iknowwhatyou’reupto.Business:Soundofashot.Agroan.
Hurry,beforethetraingetstothecrossing!Look!He’sgainingonus!
45
Hurry! Will he make it? Will Dusty Blades head off the desperate
andmurderersintheracefortheyacht?Will
Ibeabletokeepitup?Theyears,theyearsahead...Yougrowfatand
thelinesbecomepermanentunderyoureyesandyoudrinktoomuch
andyoupaymoretothedoctorsbecausedeathisnearerandthereisno
stop,novacationfromlife,innoyearcanyousay,“Iwanttositthis
oneout,kindlyexcuseme.”
Hismotheropenedthedoor.“Martha’sonthephone.”
Andrew clattered out in his spiked shoes, holding the old, torn
elder’s glove. He closed the door to the dining room to show his
motherthiswasgoingtobeaprivateconversation.
“Hello,” he said. “Yes.” He listened gravely. “No,” he said.
“Iguessnot.Goodbye.Goodluck,Martha.”
Hestoodlookingatthephone.Hismothercameinandheraised
hisheadandstarteddownthesteps.
“Andrew,”shesaid,“Iwanttoaskyousomething.”
“What?”
“Couldyouspareftydollars,Andrew?”
“Oh,God!”
“It’s important. You know I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t im
portant.It’sforDorothy.”
“Whatdoessheneeditfor?”
“She’sgoingtoaparty,averyimportantparty,alotofverybig
people’regoingtobethereandshe’ssurethey’llaskhertoplay…”
“Do the invitations cost fty dollars apiece?” Andrew kicked
thetopstepandalittlepieceofdriedmudfelloffthespikedshoes.
“No,Andrew.”Hismother was talkingin heraskingformoney
voice.“It’sfora dress.She can’tgo without a new dress, she says.
There’samanthereshe’safter.”
“Shewon’tgethim,dressornodress,”Andrewsaid.“Yourdaugh
ter’saveryplaingirl.”
“Iknow,”hismother’shandswavedalittle,helplessandsad.“But
it’sbetterifsheatleastdoesthebestshecan.Ifeelsosorryforher,
Andrew...”
46
“Everybody comes to me!”Andrew yelled, his voice suddenly
high.“Nobodyleavesmealone!Notforaminute!”
Hewascryingnowandheturnedtohideitfromhismother.She
lookedathim,surprised,shakingherhead.Sheputherarmsaround
him.“Justdowhatyouwanttodo,Andrew,that’sall.Don’tdoany
thingyoudon’twanttodo.”
“Yeah,”Andrewsaid.“Yeah.I’msorry.I’llgiveyouthemoney.
I’msorryIyelledatyou.”
“Don’tgiveittome if youdon’twantto,Andrew.”Hismother
wassayingthishonestly,believingit.
Helaughedalittle.“Iwantto,Mom,Iwantto.”
Hepattedhershoulderandwentdowntowardthebaseballeld,
leavingherstandingtherepuzzledatthetopofthesteps.
Thesunandthebreezefeltgoodonthebaseballeld,andheforgot
foranhour,buthemovedslowly.Hisarmhurtattheshoulderwhen
hethrew,andtheboyplayingsecondbasecalledhim Mister,which
hewouldn’thavedoneevenlastyear,whenAndrewwastwentyfour.
T a sk s a n d e xe r c i s e s
1.Whatis‘wealth’?
2.Isawealthypersonsomeonewho:
–hasalotofmoney?
–getswhatshe/hewantsinlife?
–issuccessful?
–hasgoodcontacts?
–workshard?
–islucky?
–hasgoodeducation?
–isacrook?
Supportyouranswer.
47
vigorously,
austere,murmur,subtract,counterfeiter,yell,rear,fold.
IrwinShawwasborninNewYorkCity,thesonofWilliamShaw,
asalesmanofhattrimmings,andRoseTompkinsShaw.Whenhewas
veryyoungthefamilymovedtotheSheepsheadBaysectionofBrook
lyn, where he attended local schools and developed a lifelong love
ofsports.Someofhisbestshortstories,including“TheEightyYard
Run”and “March, Marchon Down the Field,” both about football,
weredrawnfromhisathleticexperiences.
At the age of fteen he graduated from James Madison High
Schooland enteredBrooklyn College.During his freshman year he
failedcalculusandLatinandwasexpelledfromcollege.Heworked
at odd jobs for a year and then returned to obtain his B.A. degree.
Hecontinuedhisinterestinsportsbyplayingfootballforfouryears,
contributedpiecestotheschoolnewspaper,andwroteplaysthatwere
staged by the school dramatic group. In a short autobiographical
sketch, he recalled how he supported himself during his remaining
yearsincollege:“TomakemoneywhenIgotbackintoschoolItu
toredchildren,workedintheschoollibrary,typedmanuscripts,wrote
theses inEnglish for students in NewYork University.”Years later
BrooklynCollegeawardedhimanhonorarydoctorate.
st
1.WhatwasAndrewdictatingLenore?2.Whatwordsinthe1
para
graphpromptyouthatDustyBladeswasplayedontheradio?3.Howlong
48
wasAndrewwritingDustyBladesplay?4.WhatdidAndrewthinkofLe
nore?How didhe treat her?5. Why didAndrewenjoywriting Ronnie
CookmuchbetterthanDustyBlades?6.Whydidthemanfromthebank
callAndrew?7.Whycouldn’tAndrewfallasleepafterwork?8.Didhe
do sports in college? Why didn’t he join the boys on the athletic eld
atrst?9.Whydidtheagentcall?Speakabouthiswayofpronouncing
words.10.WhomdidAndrewspendalmostallhismoneyon?11.What
didhisfatherdoforaliving?12.WhowasMartha?WhatkeptAndrew
from marrying Martha? Did he marry her in the end? 13. What was
Andrew’ssisterlearningtodo?Doyouthinkshewastalented?14.Why
didAndrewthinkhewouldhavetosupporthissisterforlife?Wouldshe
marryinAndrew’sopinion?15.Whydidthesisterneed$50?16.What
wasAndrew’sdream?17.Howdidheassessthequalityofliteraturelike
Hamlet?18.Wheredidhekeephisscripts?Whythere?
1. Everyone took advantage ofAndrew.2.Andrew was a poor
writer.3.Andrew’ssisterwasaplaingirl.4.Andrew’smotherloved
herchildren. 5.Andrew visited a doctor.6. Marrying Martha could
causehimproblemsinlife.7.Andrewhadnotimetoenjoyhislife.
8. He did his best to provide for his family and earn his living.
9. Andrew lived in two worlds: real and the world of ction.
10.Andrew’slife was measuredbywords.11.Andrewwasrealistic
abouthiswritingtalent.
____Andrew broke up with Martha. ____ Andrew tried to do
thecalculationsofhisexpenses.____Andrewwentouttoplaybase
ball.____AndrewdictatedthestoryofDustyBladestoLenore.____
Hismother hada word withAndrew abouthis sister.____Andrew
wasinformedofhisoverdraft.____TheagentdismissedAndrew.
Andrew, his mother, Dorothy, Martha
49
Ifpossiblementiontheirappearances(clothes,hair,
etc.),occupations,interests,ideas,behaviour.Finddetailsinthestory
andspeakabouteachofthem.
1. This story is forty dollars … script. 2. … noise of … cof
feemachinefrom…rearof…houseannoyedher.3.Lift…pound
andyoundyou arecarrying…ton. 4. When theywerein… col
legetheyusedtoplay…basketball.5.You’llhavetobuy…furni
tureifyoumarryandtake…apartment.6.Shehadtoshoutinto…
phonebecause…linewasbadandtheycouldhardlyhearher.7.Tim
paid…hundredandftydollarsfor…airticketsto…Netherlands.
8.…welloffpeopleliketobuy…accessoriesat…Harrodsand…
Saks.
1. I don’t understand what you (complain) about. 2. You (work)
atweekends? 3.Youshould (tell)them I wasn’treadywith thestory.
4.WhileI(clean)thehouse,youphoneyourbankmanager.5.Hisfeet
(hurt)himwhenhe(play)football.6.She(put)apostcardintotheenve
lope,(seal)itand(go)tothepostofce.7.Foralittlewhileshe(look)
blanklyatthenoticenotrealizingthatthebank(close).8.Hisdisease
(aggravate)thesituationandthere(seem)tobenosolutiontoit.
50
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