Page:Dead Souls - A Poem by Nikolay Gogol - vol2.djvu/240

230 I absolutely must have fifteen thousand at once.'

'But I really have not got the five thousand and I don't know where to get it.'

'I will lend it to you,' put in Platonov.

'Well, perhaps, if you will!' said Tchitchikov, and thought to himself, 'well, it really is very handy that he should lend it me: in that case it will be possible to bring the money to-morrow.'

The writing-case was brought from the carriage for Hlobuev, and ten thousand was at once taken from it; the other five thousand was promised for the next day. It was promised, but Tchitchikov inwardly proposed to bring three thousand; the rest later, in two or three days, or if possible to put off the payment somewhat longer. Pavel Ivanovitch had a peculiar dislike for letting money go out of his hands. If it were absolutely inevitable to make a payment it still seemed to him better to pay the money to-morrow and not to-day. In fact he behaved as we all do: we all like to keep a man dangling about when he is asking for his money. Let him hang about in the passage! As though he could not wait a little! What does it matter to us that every hour may be precious to him and that his business is suffering from his absence!

'Come to-morrow, my good man,' we say. 'I have no time to attend to you to-day.'

'Where are you going to live?' Platonov asked Hlobuev. 'Have you some other estate?'

'No, I haven't, but I am going to move to the