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 TWO VISITS

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‘ Isn’t he a marvel ? Isn’t he a parrot—a lion ? Yes, a hon I A real lion ! And what a tail! Have you ever seen such a tail ? ’ The cat jumped down and escaped into a corner of the room, and Absalom went on flattering his guest about her physical and spiritual qualities. ‘ Tell me,’ he said, ‘ is this brooch made of glass ? How it glitters ! Do you know, you simply dazzle me ? I swear you do. You positively dazzle me. And tell me, is Paris really such a large town ? And is the Eiffel Tower really there ? What hands ! What a nose you have ! ’ He did not embrace the girl, nor did he stop comphmenting her. On and on he went, and his flow of words was only interrupted by the sudden appearance of Bender. The great schemer stood in the doorway, twisting a small piece of paper in his hands. ‘ Does Iznurenkov hve here ? ’ he asked sternly. ‘ Are you Iznurenkov ? ’ Absalom looked nervously at the stranger. What did he want ? Had he come to collect the fine for the window-pane he had broken when arguing with some one in the tram ? Or had he come to serve a writ on him for non-payment of rental ? ‘ What do you mean by sending a Government ofiicial away like that ? ’ asked Bender tersely. ‘ A Government official ? What Government official ? ’ said Iznurenkov, horrifled. ‘ You know perfectly well what I mean. The furni­ ture must go at once.’ Then he turned to the young woman and said : ‘ I must ask you, comrade, to get off that chair.’ The young woman stood up. ‘ Sit down 1 ’ shouted Iznurenkov, as he stood be­ tween Bender and the chair. ' They’ve no right to do this.’ ' I shouldn’t say much about rights if I were you. Give me that chair. You must obey the law.’