Mikhail Bulgakov. The Fateful Eggs -
82 >
ended with the Institute doors flying open and the sound of distant gunfire.
But then the whole stone building shook with a sudden stampede, shouts and
breaking glass. Maria Stepanovna seized hold of Persi-kov's arms and tried
to drag him away, but he shook her off, straightened himself up to his full
height and went into the corridor, still wearing his white coat.
"Well?" he asked. The door burst open, and the first thing to appear on
the threshold was the back of a soldier with a red long-service stripe and a
star on his left sleeve. He was firing his revolver and retreating from the
door, through which a furious crowd was surging. Then he turned and shouted
at Persikov:
"Run for your life, Professor! I can't help you anymore."
His words were greeted by a scream from Maria Stepanovna. The soldier
rushed past Persikov, who stood rooted to the spot like a white statue, and
disappeared down the dark winding corridors at the other end. People rushed
through the door, howling:
"Beat him! Kill him..."
"The villain!"
"You let the reptiles loose!"
The corridor was a swarming mass of contorted faces and torn clothes. A
shot rang out. Sticks were brandished. Persikov stepped back and half-closed
the door of his room, where Maria Stepanovna was kneeling on the floor in
terror, then stretched out his arms like one crucified. He did not want to
let the crowd in and shouted angrily:
"It's positive madness. You're like wild animals. What do you want?"
Then he yelled: "Get out of here!" and finished with the curt, familiar
command: "Get rid of them, Pankrat."
But Pankrat could not get rid of anyone now. He was lying motionless in
the vestibule, torn and trampled, with a smashed skull. More and more people
swarmed past him, paying no attention to the police firing in the street.
A short man on crooked ape-like legs, in a tattered jacket and torn