Treasure of the tower

– Only after coffee. – Categorically with a pleasant smile said Lusya, waving to the top with his indexed finger?

By twelve o’clock in the afternoon, everyone in the kitchen had gathered for coffee and a Prague cake. Misha did not say that yesterday there was a contract to wake up at six in the morning and go out into the hilly country outside the city, where there are cozy backwaters on the river and there it would be possible to organize parking, a shish kebab, and it’s wonderful to mark the beginning of school holidays. Lusya spoke first: “Misha, you, of course, excuse me, but you have such wonderful air and so much comfort that you did not want to wake up. We had a wonderful night’s sleep and hunt out of the house.

“Listen, Lusya,” Sophia interrupted, “if you say so, and then speak for yourself.” For example, I want to go camping, with an overnight stay in a tent, to sit down at the crack of a fire, it’s so romantic and mysterious. And what shish kebabs with a smoke and how nice to get into the sleeping bag.

“Sofia, you say that as if you were already on a march.” – Said Sasha.

– You will believe, never.

– And I do not want to get out of Sasha’s bed and here again. Lucia said in a deep voice.

“So what’s the matter,” interposed Misha, we might not go that far. Here we are not far away, only through the wasteland to cross, and you will get to the abandoned half-ruined prison, where convicts who worked at the construction of the Demidov factories were kept.

– This is where we are skeleton, chained to the wall, found in the dungeon, yes?! Exclaimed Sasha. The girls were quiet. Their eyes lit up and shone with a mysterious story.

“Guys, why did not you say anything and you did not say a word to Sashka about this?” – Suddenly excitedly spoke to Lucy. – I want to go there. Will you show this place? Demanded Lusya.

The guys began to think what to say to these two chatterboxes, who, of course, will start bragging to everyone in a row, and a lot of people will pour in here.

– We need to confer. Suddenly Sasha jumped up from his seat and dragged Misha along with him. The guys went out into the corridor, tightly closing the kitchen door behind them.

“What are we going to do, Mishka?” What the girls will see – will hear the whole get-together of Yekaterinburg?

– Yes, it is true. I think that we can not escape this, so girls can not be taken there, and even more so they can show them everything there. Let’s apologize and explain this, which we played it out so that the girls are completely awake, and they wanted to go with us to nature.

“It’s settled!” Let’s go to! – Sasha, having said this, first entered the kitchen, where the girls were smoking a cigarette, dropping the ashes into a faceted glass.

– Well, what did you think up there? Asked Luce.

“Excuse us girls, we’ve made it all up.” In short, played you, so it was more interesting. – Sasha said first who entered.

– Yes, we understood it immediately. “Said Lusya”. Is Sofia true?”

– Of course. – Confirmed the girl, – We, when we were going to you to go, carefully studied the space map of Nevyansk and its environs. And except for the sagging tower on the shores of an artificial lake, which was built during the time of Demidov, there are no remains of jails nearby.

– And looked at the enlarged view, and in detail. – Lusya added.

The guys relaxed from the heart. It seemed that it was concealed after the Moscow expedition to the ruins of the prison. The space map of Nevyansk and its environs was carefully retouched, removing even a hint of the very existence of these ruins themselves. This instilled in the boys even greater interest in organizing a search expedition, but, of course, without girls, because how, no matter how it is, it’s still a man’s business…

Chapter – 6.

The whole company left the house at two o’clock in the afternoon. Guys under the weight of heavy backpacks with inventory for a picnic, girls with hand luggage. Transport was not worth using, since Misha’s house stood on the very outskirts of the city, and to the hilly countryside overgrown with grass and bushes was a stone’s throw away. It was necessary to cross the bridge across the river to the right bank. Then, with a winding path, it will go deep into the desert area, take care of the place and break up two tents. It was decided to put one more tent for the girls for the guys. The boys immediately set to work. Sasha with a hatchet went to the bushes to cut the peg for the stretchers of the tent, and Misha began to install a metal brazier and lay out charcoal in it. The girls, meanwhile, spread a blue oilcloth blanket and began to string pieces of pickled meat with tomatoes and onions on skewers. When Misha approached the girls to check how they were doing, Lusya and Sofia stared at him in surprise.

– You, th, girls? – Misha cringed, trying to understand what was wrong.

The first could not stand Lusya. Her contagious and sonorous laughter made Sofia laugh to tears. Misha finally understood, and he began to wipe his face vigorously, smearing coal dust even harder over his face. These manipulations caused hysterical laughter of girlfriends. Misha felt awkward and insulted, he was already going to leave, twisting his unhappy face, but Sofia ran up to him with a laugh. She had a handkerchief moistened with drinking water.

– Mishka, let me wash you a little. – Carefully said the girl. Began to wipe his nose, cheeks, smeared with coal cheekbones, pressing closer to the guy closer and closer. Misha suddenly grabbed the girl in his arms, pressed her to him and they began to kiss, having frozen from mutual pleasure and sympathy.

“E-e, what are you doing there, ah?!” Called Lusya. Sofia suddenly pushed Misha away and ran off to her.

“What did I tell you?” No harassment, – she began, as a teacher in the school of noble maidens. “And you told me what you promised, eh?” What kind of not filed, that you like him when you see his photo.

– Listen, Lusya, leave me alone, ah! – Frowning, and blushing, Sophia said. The girls still continued to string meat when Sasha came up to them with an armful of pegs.

– Well, how are you, girls. The Serpent did not go around here, did he? – Looking to Misha, the guy asked.

“We can stand up for ourselves.” – Said Lucia, Sofia again blushed.

Of course, Sasha saw everything and already guessed that the flushed Sophie fell in love with his brother’s ears. But it’s better to leave this topic, and he said: “I’m going to set up tents with Mishka.” There he already melted the brazier. Shish kebabs will be fried when more heat is generated. Approximately by this time, the tents will already stand, and we will cast lots, where will be, whose will be determined by the draw. Is there a girl?!

– About! Lord of tents, you, as always right! – Lusya answered with a smile. Sofia at that time stuck in a three-liter jar with pickled meat, the brush took another piece, brushing the brine in a jar, strung it over the skewer.

– Go, look, maybe there is already enough heat, and it’s time to fry shish kebab? Prompted Lusya. Sofia, silently, rose, went to the side of the smoking Mangal, then went to the guys and began to help them set up the tent. With the remaining meat, Lucia managed and also joined them…

The guys brought with them two folding chairs, which they installed for the girls. From the brazier came the fragrant scent of shish kebabs, near which Misha was conjuring. And in the meantime Sasha took out four glasses and a bottle of vodka “SMIRNOFF” in volume of 1 liter. And in a voluptuous voice, he said:

– This is for kebab. – Putting a bottle on a blue plaid, which already began to serve as a “Tablecloth Scrap” What there, just was not. And the mushrooms in the marinade, Misha, when he was gathering the snacks, said: “My mother and I found these mushrooms; there are good mushroom places here.” And chicken hams, and sausage sliced and two liters of “Coca-Cola”, grape juice, and much that usually take with them on a picnic. Seeing the vodka, the girls protested, one voice:

– We will not! We will not drink vodka!

To which Sasha, as a fakir took out a bottle of pink champagne from his backpack, put out with the words: – From the cellars of my stepfather. He has vineyards near Sochi and a cellar in the same place. I bought it in the stormy nineties. – Sasha’s stepfather bragged about his wealth. And he added: – I have a couple in my backpack for a girl. – He finished speaking and immediately uncorked the champagne, poured it into the plastic glasses for the drink “Coca-Cola”, Misha and himself poured two glasses of vodka.

– Let’s drink to the beginning of our adults already school holidays! – Lucia’s toast proclaimed, adding, – So toasts say, when they drink champagne. All clinked glasses and drank. Suddenly Sophia, with eyes full of tender moisture, said, looking at Misha:

– You, have a snack; quickly get drunk on the atoms.

– Oh no. We were on my birthday, which was a month ago, so it turned out that I could not come to myself for two days.

– And me, at least that! – Sasha boasted.

“And I thought out what happened to you when my mother told me that you were sick.” – Said Lucy, Sasha blushed at the same time.

“You see, Misha, how can you trust your secrets with her?” – turning to his brother, Sasha said.

Everyone laughed together.

“Ah, you know, Lusya but let me take you in my arms and we’ll fit together on a chair, coming?” – Winking at Misha, Sasha suggested.

“And I want Misha to take me in his arms.” Sophia said suddenly. Misha blushed, but answered: “Sophia, I’d love to.” – And coming to Sophia, who immediately got up from her seat and sat down in the arms of Misha. And so having settled down, Sofia began to break off pieces of meat from a chicken smoked ham and feed Misha. He chewed the pieces from Sophia’s hands with pleasure…

When the guys drank half a bottle of vodka, and Sasha opened another bottle of champagne for the girls, Sofia suddenly whispered to Misha in her ear: “I want to go to the bushes, do you?”

– Yes! “Misha said nervously, rising from his seat.” We’re not far”. – Said Sasha, and went after Sophia. They were gone for a long time. Lusya began to fidget restlessly on Sasha’s lap, and he asked: “Do you want it, too?”

– And for a long time already and strongly!

– So could not say, so they went faster. “They ran the other way.” They did not show for a long time, while Misha and Sophia returned, drinking champagne from a glass of Sofia. At last Sasha and Lusya appeared and immediately Lucy announced:

– Sasha and I decided to sleep in one tent.

– And we, how? Sophia asked in surprise.

– You know, friend, you go to your sleeping bag, and Misha let him lie down in your own and in one tent you will be warm and safe together.

“All right, Lucien, I persuaded Misha and I will sleep in our tent too…”

From drunk after the vodka of champagne, Misha immediately became drunk, so much so, that in the morning, he awoke with a terrible headache. Having looked around with a not remembering glance around, he pondered for a long time where he was, until the rolled nausea to his throat forced him to jump out into the pre-dawn dawn. The fountain poured from it yesterday, soaking up the combustible mixture, it became much easier. Hearing comrade, Sasha poked his head out from the tent:

“Che, are you bad?” On, – holding out the bottle with the unfinished vodka at the bottom, – take it, straight from the throat. “Shaking the bottle,” his brother said. Misha looked at the vodka, and immediately the nasty fellow fled out of his throat, like a sparrow from a birdhouse.

“You, what do you want me to do?” – He mumbled in his heart.

– Here is a fool. I want to help you. Understand, you will immediately become a man. Drink a couple of sips, as a hand removes. You’ll see. “Sasha jumped out into the morning cold and slipped a bottle into Misha’s hand. Misha made an effort, typing the full lungs of air, took two sips, to the horror of the opposite drink now. A warm cat swept the esophagus into the stomach and spread out there, bringing all the terrible chaos of the burning body into calmness and, oh, a miracle, into a normal state. Misha, with red eyes, gave a grateful look to his brother, who with a smile was watching him from the tent already…

The whole company came to Misha after dinner. Happy merry and cheerful. After a couple of hours, Misha and Sasha conducted the girls Lusya and Sofia to the train. And the girls went to Yekaterinburg. The guys returned to Misha, discussing the night and the picnic impressions…

Chapter – 7.

The boys returned from the station to Misha. It was already 18 hours. Their mothers were not yet at home, and Misha called the mother on the Smartphone.

“Mom, where are you?”

– Hello, son, we are with Aunt Nastya, our classmate. We’ll be late. So rest, you guys are adults. Till. – And my mother disconnected from the connection.

– There they meet cheerfully with classmates, so that everything is OK. – said Misha.

“All right,” Sasha replied. “Let’s think over that we’ll take you to the ruins of an abandoned castle.” There must be something there, even if this object is deleted from the space map.

– It seems to me that with the name of Demigov’s places, where he had some business, there are many secrets and mysteries. – Said Misha cleverly.

“Yes, it’s okay for you, brother, to be so abstruse.” You’re not an academician of the Academy of Sciences. Until we see with our own eyes, nothing will be clear.

– I am alarmed by the fact that the Moscow expedition from the Academy of Sciences did not find this entrance to the dungeon. Are they all such fuckers that they could not see such a simple detail?

– Look, Misha, it seems to me that they noticed, but did not dare to continue the research, but simply froze this object, having deleted it from existence.

“So it’s of some value.” – Misha has cleverly expressed.

This concludes the conversation. The guys took out the products bought on the way from the station and Misha started frying potatoes, and Sasha opened a couple of cans and went to work

Cooking salad. Two bottles of beer appeared on the table. And the guys began to supper, discussing tomorrow’s sally into the abandoned ruins.

The collection of the necessary inventory for the study of the ruins took a fair amount of time. And having collected in backpacks all that could be needed there, the guys at exactly 23 hours went to bed, in advance they did not forget to make an alarm clock. Their spree mothers were not yet. Alarm clock thundered exactly at six zero-zero. Misha jumped first as the alarm clock stood on the bedside table next to his bed.

“Che, is it time?” Sasha asked sleepily.

– Yes, sleep again; I’m first in the bathroom, then you. – With these words, Misha went out into the corridor and saw on the hung clothes that their mothers were asleep at home.

After the bath, the guys quietly made their way to the kitchen brewed their coffee more tightly and after a light breakfast with sandwiches, quietly slipped out of the house.

“Praise God, we did not have to report to our parents about where we were going, and what we had there for such matters. – Wrote Misha.

– You, Misha, so worried, here is my stepfather, by the way, he from the first days, as he married his mother, forbade him to call him, there is a father or father, but only, to use his name as an equal to himself.

– Wow, as an equal? – Surprised Misha, – And, the fact that he is Russia’s champion in kick-side-sung, the famous Sergei Avramenko, is this how?

– He has been a businessman for a long time and does not appear. Now on business I went to Sochi to my winery. It is necessary to check how there is a vineyard, and how to farm, and so on. And in August we all go to Spain with our whole family, and we’ll come to the tenth, in short, I’ll start going to college on the eleventh of September.

– What do you do in your Consul on Saturday?

“It’s Sophie telling you how our college’s called, huh?” Well, from Monday, of course.

– And, what’s hard to guess? She still said that you are such a bore, and that does not understand how in such a turkey all the girls in your class are in love? Misha said with a laugh.

“Well, she’ll get me for a bore.” I’ll come, I’ll sort it out.

– The girls have to forgive, the atoms, which of us will grow, what any kind of all the same you are a man.

– Yes, Mishka. That’s for sure, let them weave on them and tongues without bones.

– One thing is good, about our secret affairs, state, we can say, secrets, we almost blurted it out. – With a smile, said Misha.

– That’s what it means to stop in time. – Sasha added approvingly.

So after the conversations the guys did not notice how the wasteland passed, nesting on the jeans of last year’s rapiers. Near the dubious bridge, they stopped. They ripped from their trouser legs and began to confer.

– Let’s carefully examine this bridge for a hundred years, an atom and more. Look, all the beams rotted, and one support, so above this moat with water already in a hanging position. – Sasha began to talk.

– Yes, I still remember, this support stood in the water on a thin barrel-like trunk. – Added Misha.

– Do you remember, the inscription, well, a sign with the inscription that it is dangerous to walk on the bridge.

– Yes, here she, lying around in the last year’s grass, fell off for a long time. – said Misha.

– Look, how everything is overgrown, soon behind these thickets and consider anything no one can. – Sasha said, examining the dilapidated wall through the young foliage growing almost to the trees of bushes on the opposite side of the moat.

– All the same it is necessary to pass. If I fail, consider it a communist, I’m going. – And Misha first bravely stepped onto the bridge. Shaky designs bent under the feet, but the guy cautiously and slowly moved forward. He ripped off his backpack in advance and held it in his hand just in case. Little by little, I crossed to the opposite side of the moat. His example was followed by Sasha. Moving, they, as if yesterday were here, confidently walked in the familiar direction to the watchtower, to what was left of it.

The boys were disappointed with the picture. The entrance to the dungeon was littered with the ruined dome-shaped ceiling of the watchtower, which from time to time collapsed and closed the entrance with a dense layer of debris from the ceiling, the burnt clay masonry…

Author’s note:

“Even in the distant 1979, the scientists of the Sverdlovsk Architectural Institute, according to the instructions of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, modern geophysical methods investigated these ruins, but there was no dungeon with melting furnaces, but an underground passage was found that led to the basement of the Demidov Tower and the plant.”

Chapter – 8.

In 1697, on a hot August day, Peter I arrived in Amsterdam to study shipbuilding at the East India Shipyard. Its main goal was to learn how to build ships to create a navy fleet. At the same time, his goal was also to find craftsmen and masters for the smelting of metal ores for military purposes. But with the second task, the problem was not the desire, neither the Dutch nor the British to send their masters to raise the iron-ore industry of Russia and at the same time create this and the military power of Russia. And with the first problem, not everything was smooth, since the Dutch shipbuilders built their ships on a whim without drawings, which prevented Peter from building his fleet in Russia.

In the evenings sitting in his apartment in Amsterdam, he wrote in his heart: “It was very disgusting for him that he perceived such a long way for this, but did not reach the desired end.” He ordered an order to Moscow to subordinate the Dutch masters at the Voronezh shipyard to the Venetian and Danish masters. Further from Moscow came a letter from a merchant and breeder, of Dutch origin, Andrei Denisovich Vinius:

“… It is better than that ore to be not possible and in the whole world, there is so rich that out of a hundred pounds of ore comes forty pounds of cast iron.” Please, please, undermine the ambassadors to find iron masters of good, able to do steel … “Vinius also reported that a magnetic The ore in the Urals was discovered by blacksmiths master Nikita Demidovich Demidov.

Demidov Nikita became known to Peter I in that he repaired the German pistol to the vice chancellor of Petro’s associate Peter Baron Pyotr Pavlovich Shafirov’s, who was on the Tsar’s affairs at the arms factory in Tula. And not only repaired, but made an exact copy of such weapons of improved design. On the recommendation of Shafirov’s, Peter I made an order in 1696 to Demidov Nikita to make 200 rifles on a German model, which was completed in a month. Peter, before making this order, arrived in Tula and at a meeting with the master, said Nikita:

“You’ll make two hundred guns in a month’s time; I’ll allocate a subsidy from the treasury for the construction of an arms factory.” (Russian archive, 1878 – Book 2-No.5-P.119—124 // Traditions about Demidov and Demidov factories).

Demidov carried out the order and in a month gave the tsar instead of the ordered 200, 300 guns, and exact copies from the foreign model provided by Peter I. The tsar lent from the Treasury Nikita Demidov the construction of an arms factory, which was built on a site designated for this construction. Thus, Nikita Demidov became the main supplier of weapons for the tsarist army of Peter’s times.

Failures with the hiring of iron making masters abroad pushed Peter I to the necessity of training his Russian masters of metallurgy. And Shafirov’s gun, and a shotgun pattern on which Demidov made 300 rifles, were produced in the arms factories of Saxony. In 1698, Tsar Peter I. visited Saxony and also got acquainted with the organization of mining in Freiberg. Here the son of Demidov Nikita, Akinfiy Nikitich Demidov, was sent to Saxony with other children. Before leaving Akinfiya abroad, the son had a long conversation with his father:

“Write it all down, as I told you.” There, silver is melted from the ore, as it is done you must know. And remember that with the copper smelting enriched by smelting; the still not purified red copper comes out. There can be contained in a hundred pounds of red copper to five pounds of gold and silver. Remember that your main task is not to give out why you are recovering there. In addition, that you will learn copper smelting; learn in great detail, from red copper, how to get silver and gold. Saxons have poor copper ore and do not contain enough of these compounds. But the methods should be described in their textbooks. Try to buy these books, well, find out how it’s done, sort of for the general development. “I spoke instructively to my 19-year-old son Nikita.

– Yes, I understood, my father understood. I will be more attentive than ever. – The tone that Akinfiy answered, not really liked Nikita. My son studied with his father and, it seems, was what. His metallurgy was very interested. He himself aspired to what Demidov the Elder had told him, and if they say the same thing several times in a row, he did not like Akinfiy. But the trip abroad attracted an inquisitive young man and also the learning process. But Nikita hoped that his son, at least, would learn something about the process of extracting precious metals from the ores, as a side effect in the process of smelting the base metal. On this, they decided that Demidov the Younger would write down in detail the processes that contribute to the basic melting. Demidov the Younger answered his father:

– There, in the books, everything is described in detail. “Trying to distract my father from the conversation,” said Akinfius.

– In books, then in books, but everywhere there are secrets, which the masters are not in a hurry to share with anyone. And I myself know that what comes by skill and skill is not recorded, but is passed from father to son and stored under seven locks inside the family. Therefore, share a sincere acquaintance with the master, that owns the art of mining precious metal and take over the experience, remember everything, maybe without writing down, so that no one knows that we will be smelting here…

Peter I was still at the shipyards of Amsterdam, when Andrei Denisovich went to Germany with ten young men to train them from foreign craftsmen of the arts. Vinius wrote to Peter in detail about his request to send young men to study in Saxony, including the 19-year-old Akinfiya, the son of the weapons business of Master Nikita Demidov. In total, 50 children from families of boyars, wealthy merchants and industrialists were selected to study crafts abroad…