I love to watch people - naive and reckless. How many watch, so much I wonder. I wanted to take this one: he wanted fish ... The boat was fragile, the gear was funny, he was skinny himself, and there, too, he went to work ... the old Mustache hooked, hoping to pull it out. Soon an hour as thrown. I look. No fun.

Mustache - an ancient somist pudov twenty, no less, and the length of more than three oblique fathoms. During the day, he sleeps in a pit, and then he got out before dusk - apparently hungry. Of course, such a womb and fill the night is not enough. And the fisherman is ... I shall come closer, see whether I know the familiar one, I know everyone here. Yes, I saw. I went with my mother. She rinse underwear, and he in the bushes and swim. Splashed until the mother for the twig will not take. A lively boy like that, funny ... grew up, stretched out.

Well, who is who? How long are they? The sun peeking out from behind the cloud, baking through the water. It would be necessary to go deeper or into the shadows ... It is a pity, I will not watch. Wow! What is this guy goggles? Frozen all. Did you see me? Impossible. But still he looks straight in the eyes ... O-ho-ho, here, fool! It was seen, and I loomed with a dark spot ... Drop the tackle, you idiot, now Mustache ke-ek will pull!

And the old catfish, tired and angry from the prolonged struggle, pulled. The guy did not have time to realize how he stepped into the water over the side of the boat and instantly fell into the deep. If only the forest wound around the elbow flew off, but no, on the conscience of the braided hair of their horse's hair, did not tear and did not come off, even more confused the unfortunate. He rushed up to the light, but where there. The mustache at home, in his element, pulled the prey to the pit. A man twitches randomly, the burnt air bubbles out of his mouth, his eyes rolled out of orbits, everything inside is ablaze. Now swallow, let in a voditsa ... Everything is limp. The boat is still rocking on the light waves. Silence around, only the buzz of dragonflies and frog croaking occasionally resounds. As if there was nothing.

I hurry after them, Mustache unhappy with my presence, but I do not care. She stopped the fish, but it already opened its mouth - a greedy brute. Will not be able to swallow at once - the trophy is too big for him, but it will disfigure. I consider the drowned man close. Beautiful, if it were not for the eyes ... There, at the top, the blue ones were shining, glowing in the sun, and here they were dull, gray, covered in veil, and the pupils were huge, black with horror. The undercurrent moves the scattered straw hair, and blue lips move up and down, just like a drowned man say or ask what he wants. How old is he? Zim seventeen or eighteen. Adult, should get with him. Well, well, lucky you, lad, that I was near, will not end on this your being. True, thanks from you, too, do not wait.

Vanka awoke on the damp grass naked, around the bushes and black trees, starry sky above his head and yellow Selena with a smirk glances. He jumped, felt himself - intact! How did he get out and do not remember anything? Where are the clothes? Where is the boat? Where is it brought? He ran to one side through the bushes - water, ran into the other - water, went hastily along the shore - dim reflections on the water surface. A tiny island. Nearby, another darkens, but there is a far and far away, and more ... Sonya The floodplain - that's where he is. Vanka whistled and sat down on a fallen tree trunk, became thoughtful. It turned out to be far away, fishing in Deaf Creek, from it, perhaps, there will be three or four versts. I couldn’t swim by myself, the damned fish came here and dragged it. He remembered how he fell into the water, how he fought desperately, how he got entangled in a wicker, how he burned in his chest, and then ... nothing. Is empty. How to get out of the scrape - no hint. Just see someone's eyes ...

It became terrible to him, started and hugged himself with his hands over his shoulders. Out of habit, he prepared himself to shiver and marveled. Chill was not. Moreover, the air seemed sultry and suffocating, as in a forge. He ran his hand over his hand - collected a handful of moisture.Though the summer, but the nights are cool, and it soars exactly in the feverish delirium. He sat down and waited - he should let go a little. No, it got worse. Light breeze instead of cool burn back dry. In a panic, Ivan stumbled, it seemed to him that he was embracing the whole fire and getting hotter and hotter from movements, sweat running down the body in streams. Where is the salvation?

Water ... It is all around and lures, promising refuge from unbearable hell. Afraid to change his mind - the fall from the boat is too fresh in his memory - Ivan rushed into the lake. It turned out not deep in this place - on the chest. Bliss enveloped the whole body, knocking down the heat. Each time was eagerly absorbed and saturated with moisture, the members relaxed, their knees buckled, but he did not sink to the bottom, but hung in incredible bliss and peace. He has never been so good. There was no heat or cold, no resistance was felt to the surrounding environment, only the head and shoulders were still hot. Ivan thought that it would not be bad to go under the water at all, even if only for a short time, to wash the flowing sweat from his face, and did not have time to be surprised how he found himself sitting at the bottom. I was agitated, but immediately calmed down, as if prompted by someone that there was no danger. “I’ll sit like this for a minute with my eyes closed ... he decided. “Here, before the surface of the chutes, you can breathe air at any moment.” I did not want to move. A nap crept, so unusual and pleasant was the sweeping state. With his eyes closed, he saw what was going on around him. I saw clearly how nice it was during the day: a flock of perch floated by, slowly plowing the tail along the oozy bottom of the cancer, and a bewildered pike stiffened behind its back, a pair of drakes were sluggishly dumbly under the weeping willow ... And he hears it! How is this possible?! Did he fall asleep ?!

Ivan forced himself to open his eyes and lift his head above the water. He expected that, having sat up, he would gasp for air, but nothing of the kind happened. Extreme need to take a deep breath did not prevail. But the external stuffiness vividly reminded of itself. On the coast did not want to get out. “And what keeps me here? - it suddenly came to mind. - No boats, no clothes. Why hang around on this island? Try to swim to another piece of land, then to the next, and there and to the present coast not far. " The night and the water no longer frightened him, it is not known where the confidence came from that he could do it, although he was never considered a good swimmer.

Ivan raked in short saplings in the direction of the nearest darkening mass, whose outlines were silvered by moonlight and marveled at how far it went. I looked around - I did not notice how I had overcome halfway, but it seemed that I had only started off. And no fatigue. Not a drop. “And if you push? - he thought cheerfully. No sooner said than done. The hot wind hit hard in the face, causing the water to water down, and the water around it boiled with foamy breakers. Unable to resist, the young man dived, stretching out his arms and realized that he was still attracted to him at an awesome speed. Grabbed a heady feeling of permissiveness and power. "And even faster!"

Probably, the birds soar in the blue of the sky, as Ivan flew, dying from delight. No resistance, no effort, no fear, no thoughts - one desire: go ahead! And carried with irrepressible force. “And if to the side ?!” The body itself dutifully arched and slid in the right direction. “Now, the other way! - rejoicing, ordered the young man. “And deeper!” Having laid a graceful pirouette, he raced down with the speed of an attacking pike and abruptly sieged at the very bottom covered with waving algae. He remembered that he had not been on the air for a long time. He did not panic, but listened anxiously to himself: no, I did not feel any burning sensation. “Still need to emerge ...”

The summer dawn is busy early and the tops of the trees have already begun to shudder in the rays of the nascent sun, when a lean body jumped out of the dark depths into the light. The young man flew over the water to a good sazhen and, laughing from the heady delight, splashed back. He jumped out again and fell, raising clouds of splashing, then he kicked in some swift throws in different directions ...