Page:Diamonds To Sit On.pdf/275

 an earthquake

263

‘ Avdotin,’ said Persitsky, ‘ give him three roubles on my account. I don’t want a receipt ‘ That’s very little, said Bender, but 111 accept it I can understand your diBculties. Of cou^e if you had won a hundred thousand you would probably have given me five roubles. In any case, many ‘"Bender raised his hat politely, Persitsky- bowed jumped into one of the magnificent cars, and drove away, leaving Bender with his fool of a companion "‘“wS" theVsmlrt'r iid Bender. ' They’™ won

fifty thousand roubles. Pussy, and you can see for yourself how they have bought up all sorts of Mecham Ll rubbish. Now, when we get our money we U spend it much more rationally, won’t we ? The two friends left Passanaur, building castles! m the air and dreaming of what they would buy, wig they were rich. Hippolyte could see himself new socks and setting out for a long^ but Bender had more ambitious schemes He wanted to erect a dam across the Blue Nile, he wanted to open a casino in Riga with affiliations m all countnes

°“^the°third day they reached Mtsl^et, thegncgnt capital of Georgia, where they were nogfar^frr^m. Tiflg^ A kind neasant gave them a lift as far as li , Hiev arrived at eleven o’clock at night, the very hour whL the citizens come out into th® cool evenmg enjoy the fresh air after the heat of the_day. ‘ it’s not a bad little town, said Bender. You ^^But Binder did not finish his sentence. He ran after a man, overtook him, and began an animated conversation with him. Shortly afterwards he cam back to Hippolyte, dug him in the ribs, and said m nnick undertone : ‘ Do you know who it is. it s Kislyarsky from Stargorod. Come on, let us go an