Going Postal (2/6)

One

& Mr. Pump: Mr. Lipwig. Your punishment is to fix the Post Office.
    Lipwig: Exactly. Not to meet a horrible death. I am just a conman.
    Mr. Pump: You have killed 22.8 people.
    Lipwig: I’ve never so much as drawn a sword!
    Mr. Pump: You have stolen, embezzled* and swindled*. You have ruined businesses and destroyed lives. When banks fail, it’s not bankers who starve. In 1,000 small ways, you have hastened* the deaths of many. You did not know them. You did not see them bleed. But you snatched bread from their mouths.


& Adora Belle Dearheart: Some people don’t like golems. They think they take away jobs. The trust stands up for golem rights.
    Lipwig: Moist von Lipwig.
    Adora: Oh. That’s quite a name. Were your parents stupid or just plain cruel?
    Lipwig: Doting*. If a little unwise.


& Adora: Adora Belle Dearheart.
    Lipwig: I’ve never seen black look so adorable*.
    Adora: If you say “adorable”, I’ll be forced to shoot you after all.
    Lipwig: Sorry. Couldn’t resist.
    Adora: I’m in mourning, if you must know.


& Adora: Just remember. If you want to stay alive, stay close to Pump-19. Very close.
    Lipwig: ....... Promise me you won’t leave!
    Mr. Pump: I promise.
    Lipwig: If the curse were to strike tonight, what could you actually do?
    Mr. Pump: Improvise.


& Lipwig: We’re in the letter business, Mr. Groat. We do words, not bricks.

---

& Lipwig: The stamping system!
    Miss Cripslock: Cute, Mr. Lipwig. But, with the clacks, why do we need a Post Office at all?
    Lipwig: The clacks is all well and good if you want to know the prawn* market figures from Genua, but can you seal a clacks with a loving kiss? Can you cry tears on a clacks?.. Can you enclose a pressed flower?.. So, spread the message far and wide, the Post Office is back in business.


& Reacher: I tried talking to him nicely. But some people just won’t listen. We may need to be a little more direct in our approach.


& Lipwig: How many golems are for hire right now?
    Adora: There’s 12 on the books.
    Lipwig: I’ll take them all. Don’t bother to wrap them up!
    Adora: We’re not talking about groceries. They have souls.


& Lipwig: That’s a terrible habit, you know.
    Adora: Perhaps I like bad habits.
    Lipwig: Maybe there’s still hope for me, then.


& Adora: One minute you’re trying to manipulate Pump-19, the next, you’re a golem’s best friend.
    Lipwig: Because now I have a plan.


& Lipwig: Why are you picking on me?! This is nothing. You see? A victimless crime. Forged bonds harm no one!


& Stanley: We got a problem. The stamps.
    Lipwig: You can’t prove anything!
    Stanley: We’ve sold out.
    Lipwig: Oh. Well, good sales are never a problem.


-- Dict:
embezzled — присвоенных
swindled — обманутых
hastened — поспешил
Doting — страдающий старческим слабоумием; слепо преданный; любящий до безумия
adorable — восхитительный; обожаемый; прелестный
prawn — креветка

Three