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 THE COLUMBUS THEATRE

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Bender when he suddenly came face to face with the undertaker Bezenchuk. ‘ Bezenchuk ! ’ he said in a surprised voice, ‘ wher­ ever have you sprung from ?’ Bezenchuk took off his hat and was delighted. ‘ Mr. Vorobianinov ! ’ he exclaimed. ‘ What a pleasant meeting ! ’ ‘ Well, and how’s business ? ’ ‘ Business is bad,’ answered the coffin-maker. ‘ Really ? How’s that ? ’ ‘ Looking for chents, but the clients don’t come.’ ‘ Why ? Are the Nymphs getting them all ? ’ ‘ Of course not, but there’s absolutely nothing happening. Apart from your dear mother-in-law there’s only been “ Pierre and Constantine ” to turn up his toes.’ ‘ You don’t mean to say he’s dead ? ’ ‘ Yes, Mr. Vorobianinov, he’s turned up his toes aU right. He was just shaving the chemist, Leopold, when suddenly he fell over and died. Folk say there was some internal combustion, but I think the poor fellow must have breathed the fumes coming from the chemist and was gassed.’ ‘ That’s bad,’ said Hippolyte. ‘ Did you bury him ? ’ ‘ Of course I buried him. Who else ? You know yourself that the Nymphs don’t provide fringes.’ ‘ So you won, eh ? ’ ‘ Yes, I won ; but I also got a beating and they would have killed me if it had not been for the mihtia. I was in bed for two days.’ ‘ What are you doing here ? ’ ‘ I’ve brought some goods.’ ‘ What sort of goods ? ’ ‘ My own goods.’ Hippolyte then noticed that there was a number of coffins on the ground. ‘ Eight of them,’ said Bezenchuk proudly.