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 THE MUSEUM OF FURNITURE

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wall and their upholstery was neither faded nor soiled. They were in such good condition and so clean that they looked as though they were still in the care of Hippolyte’s mother-in-law. ‘ Are these the ones ? ’ asked Bender. ‘ Yes ! Yes ! ’ replied Hippolyte excitedly. ‘ The very chairs ! There’s absolutely no doubt this time ! ’ ‘ I think we had better make sure,’ said Bender in a calm voice. He went up to one of the men in the room. ‘ Can you tell me whether these chairs have come from the Museum of Furniture ? ’ ‘ These ? ’ said the man. ‘ Yes.’ ‘ Are they for sale ? ’ ‘ Yes, they are.’ ‘ What is the price ? ’ ‘ There is no price. They are to be auctioned.’ ‘ Oh ! To-day ? ’ ' No. The auction is over for to-day. It’ll be to­ morrow, from five o’clock.’ ‘ Can’t they be sold to-day ? ’ ' No. I said to-morrow from five o’clock.’ Bender and Hippolyte could not leave the chairs so quickly. ‘ May we have a look round ? ’ asked Hippolyte. ‘ If you like,’ said the man. The two friends examined the chairs for a long time. They sat down on them several times and examined other things in the room so as not to arouse suspicion, while Hippolyte kept on nudging Bender. ‘ You should go down on your knees,’ said Bender. But Hippolyte was so wildly excited he would have gone down and kissed the soles of Bender’s feet. ' To-morrow ! ’ he said. ‘ To-morrow ! ’ And he felt like singing.