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 THE AUTOMOBILE CLUB

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' I don’t think—I know. How many members have you got ? ’ ‘ Oh ! quite a large number.’ The group consisted so far of only one organizer, but Avdotiev did not elaborate that point. ‘ We’re buying a car from the dumping ground for five hundred roubles. Egorov has already got his eye on one and he says the repairs won’t cost any more than five hundred, so that makes a thousand. I’m thinking of finding twenty members, each one to sub­ scribe fifty roubles. It’ll be fine. We’ll all learn to drive. Egorov wiU be the head of the show, and in three months’ time, round about August, we’ll all know how to drive the car. The car will be ours and each one in turn will be able to drive wherever he likes.’ ‘ Yes,’ said the sub-editor; ‘ but what about the purchase-money^—the five hundred roubles ? ’ Oh ! the Mutual Credit will give it us on a per­ centage basis. We’ll soon be able to pay that back. Well, what about you ? Shall I put your name down as a member ? ’ Now the sub-editor was going bald ; he was an exceptionally busy man, and a slave to his family and home ; he loved to take a nap on the sofa after dinner and to read the Pravda before dropping off to sleep, so he thought about the automobile club for a minute and then refused. ‘ You old stick ! ’ said Avdotiev, and moved away to repeat his fiery speech to other people in the office. His remarks had little effect on the older men, and by ‘ older men ’ he meant any one above the age of twenty. They all made excuses by saying they were already ‘ Friends of the Children ’ and regularly paid twenty copecks a year in aid of the poor little mites They said they would gladly join the new club if—— If what ? ’ shouted Avdotiev. ‘ And what if the car were here now, eh ? Supposing we were to bring a six-cyhnder Packard in here now for fifteen copecks