Page:Diamonds To Sit On.pdf/218

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diamonds to sit ON

stem of the ship and the steamer moved slowly forward. The band played a wonderful march and the steamer moved on the current of the river into the darkness. The street lamps and signals on the landing-stage receded and the lights of the town gradually dis­ appeared. The typewriters were still clicking and the members of the commission were sipping tea. There was a warm wind, the river was calm, the band had stopped playing, and it was a beautiful, peaceful night. One of the passengers began to sing ‘ Volga, Volga. . . ’ and somewhere or other Ivanov, the musician, was drawing tender sounds from a piano, while in a comer of the upper deck Malkin, Galkin, Palkin, Chaikin, and Zalkind were practising their jazz noises. Bender was lying on a leather sofa in a firstclass cabin. He was looking thoughtfully at Hippolyte and every now and then he would ask him a question. ‘ So you can’t draw ? That’s a great pity. Unfor­ tunately I can’t either.’ He was silent for a minute and then continued : ‘ And lettering ? Can you do that ? What ? You can’t do that either ? Well, I must say that’s serious. After all, you and I are supposed to be artists. We can probably fool them for two days, but they’ll throw us out after that, I know. And we’ve got to see to our own business in those two days. The position is more difficult than I imagined, for I’ve just heard that the chairs are in the producer’s cabin. But that’s not really so terrible. The important thing is that we’re on the steamer and we must examine those chairs before they throw us out. It’s too late to-night; I expect the producer is asleep in his cabin.’