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 CONVERSATION WITH NAKED ENGINEER 167 ‘ I shall be delighted.’ ‘ Thanks. It’s only a small matter. Your wife asked me to come round and get this chair for her. She wants it to make up the pair, and in return she’ll send you an arm-chair.’ ‘ Oh ! certainly,’ said Shchukin. ‘ I’m delighted. But why should you trouble ? I can take it round myself to-day.’ ‘ Not at all,’ said Bender. ‘ I wouldn’t dream of troubling you. After all, why should you ? I don’t mind carrying it in the least. I live quite near to your wife, and it’s really no trouble—^no trouble at all! ’ The engineer bustled about and saw Bender to the door, but he was afraid to cross the threshold, although this time the key was safely in his pocket.

The student Ivanopulo was presented with another Gambs chair. It is true that its upholstery was slightly damaged, but it was exactly the same in design and pattern as the first chair. Bender was not at all disturbed by the fact that this new chair did not bring them any luck, for he knew the tricks of fate. The only thing he worried about was the chair that had found its way into the goods yard of the October railway station. His thoughts about that chair were unpleasant and greatly depressed him. He was in the position of a roulette player, who stakes everything on one number ; only his position was worse, for, although the twelfth chair might contain the diamonds, it was probably in some outlandish part of Russia. The sequence of his melancholy thoughts was broken by the arrival of Hippolyte, but he saw from the expression on Hippolyte’s face that he had nothing successful to report. ‘ Hello ! ’ said Bender, ‘ you’re improving. But why play tricks on me ? Why have you left the chair behind the door ? ’