"Eh, it's all the same. Our relations are cool now."
"How so?" asked Volodya Pavlov, who had caught the end of the
conversation.
"Just so ... It isn't even worth the telling..." smiled the
reporter evasively. "A trifle ... Let's have your glass here, Mr.
Yarchenko."
But the precipitate Niura, who could never keep her tongue behind
her teeth, suddenly shot oat in rapid patter:
"It's because Sergei Ivanich gave him one in the snout ... On
account of Ninka. A certain old man came to Ninka ... And stayed
for the night ... And Ninka had the flowers ... And the old man
was torturing her all the time ... So Ninka started crying and ran
away." [Footnote: The Russian expression is "the red flag."--
TRANS.]
"Drop it, Niura; it's boring," said Platonov with a wry face.
"Can it!" (leave off) ordered Tamara severely, in the jargon of
houses of prostitution.
But it was impossible to stop Niura, who had gotten a running
start.
"But Ninka says: 'I,' she says, 'won't stay with him for anything,
though you cut me all to pieces ... He,' she says, 'has made me
all wet with his spit.
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