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DIAMONDS TO SIT ON

with bent legs, upholstered in English chintz, made by Gambs, and hiding somewhere inside itself Madam Petukhov’s diamonds. The train carrying Bender and Hippolyte was slowly approaching Moscow. The passengers had exhausted aU the anecdotes they knew. Last Tuesday’s Stargorod newspaper had been read from cover to cover, including the advertisements, and was now a mass of grease-spots. All the roast chickens, hard-boiled eggs, and olives had been eaten, but the last wearisome part of the journey—the last hour before they reached Moscow—^was still ahead of them. While the rest of the passengers went on talking, Hippolyte tried to picture to himself what the Museum of Furniture would look like. He saw it as a long corridor extending for miles with chairs lined up on either side and he could see himself walking through the two rows of chairs. ‘ I wonder what will happen at the Museum of Furniture ? ’ he said to Bender, and then added anxiously ; ' Do you think it will be all right ? ’ ‘ My dear marshal of nobility, it’s high time you had some electrical treatment. There’s no need for you to have hysterics quite so soon. Of course, if you can’t help having them, then at least you might suffer in silence.’ At last the train reached Moscow and they steamed slowly into the cleanest and newest station, the Ryazan. Hippolyte and Bender pushed their way through the crowd and found themselves in Kalanchev Square. It was ten o’clock in the morning. They took a cab, and after a few minutes’ furious driving Hippolyte asked where they were going to. ‘ To good people,’ said Bender. * There are plenty of them in Moscow, and they are all my friends.’ ‘ Are we going to stay with them ? ’ ‘ It’s a community. We can always stay with one or other of them.’