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DIAMONDS TO SIT ON

choking the river so that the bridge across it was only severity feet in length, the two friends read so many inscriptions on the rocky walls that Bender forgot all about the majesty of nature and tried to shout against the noise of the rushing waters : ‘ Oh ! What great people. Just look at this : " Nicky and Micky 1914.” An unforgettable sight ! See how artistic it is ! Each letter is a yard long and is painted in oils. Where are you now, Nicky and Micky ? ’ ‘ Pussy I ’ shouted Bender, ' let us immortalize our­ selves. Let us surpass Nicky and Micky. I’ve got some chalk. I’ll climb up and write “ Pussy and Ossy have been here.” ’ Without hesitation Bender put the last remnants of their sausage on the parapet of the road that separ­ ated them from the raging waters of the Terek and began to climb up the rock. At first Hippolyte watched him climb, then he lost interest, and turning away began to examine the ruins of the castle of Tamara. Meanwhile, and two miles away from the two friends, Father Theodore was coming away from Tiflis by the Georgian military road. He was walking along with a measured soldier’s step, staring straight ahead of him, and leaning slightly on a long stick with a shep­ herd’s crook. Father Theodore had reached Tiflis on his last money, and was now walking home. He was entirely depen­ dent on the generosity of others for his food. On one of the mountain peaks, which was seven thousand and thirty-five feet above sea-level, he was bitten by an eagle, but he beat the bird off with his shepherd’s crook and continued on his way. As he walked on and through the clouds he muttered to himself every now and then : ‘ I’m not a miser. ... I am simply ful­ filling my wife’s last wish.’ The distance between the enemies was shrinking. Turning a sharp comer. Father Theodore suddenly