Page:Diamonds To Sit On.pdf/17

 BEZENCHUK AND 'THE NYMPHS’

5

All this made Hippolyte five minutes late for his office, as he learnt from the clock which hung under the motto, ‘ Do your work and go your way.’ He took a blue felt cushion out of the drawer in his table, put it on his chair, twisted the ends of his moustache until they were in a line with the edge of his table, and then sat down. Seated, he was slightly higher than the rest of his colleagues. Two young people—a man and a girl—^were shyly following his movements. The man was in a heavy winter overcoat. He seemed to be oppressed by the atmosphere of the room, the smell of ink, the loudticking clock, and the severe motto, ' Do your work and go your way.’ Although he had not even started his work he would willingly have gone away. He felt his business to be so insignificant that he was quite ashamed to trouble such an important-looking citizen as Hippolyte. For his part, Hippolyte could see quite easily that the man’s business was not important, and that it could very well wait. He therefore opened File Number 2 and got on with his work. The young girl, who was wearing a long coat edged with black braid, whispered something to the man, and blushing scarlet began to move slowly towards Hippolyte. ‘ Comrade,’ she said, ‘ where can we- ’ The man in the overcoat sighed happily and quite unexpectedly heard himself bark out: ‘ Get married ? ’ Hippolyte looked at them through the grille. ‘ Birth did you say ? Death ? ’ ‘ No, marriage,’ said the man, looking foohshly round the room. The girl burst out laughing. The matter was soon fixed up. Hippolyte, as nimble as a conjurer, set to work. He entered the names of the newly-married couple into a very thick book, sternly questioned the witnesses, who had been rapidly brought in from the street by the girl, breathed long and tenderly on to a rubber stamp, and then slightly raising himself from