d
quietly singing, in a hoarse but pleasing voice:

"Oh my valley, my little valley,
Bro-o-o-o-o-oad land of plenty."

"Excuse me, but that is a co-worker of ours," said Ramses, and went to
greet the gentleman in the gray suit. After a minute he led him up to
the bar and introduced him to his comrades.

"Gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you my companion in arms in the
newspaper game, Sergei Ivanovich Platonov. The laziest and most
talented of newspaper workers."

They all introduced themselves, indistinctly muttering out their names.

"And therefore, let's have a drink," said Uchonin, while Yarchenko
asked with the refined amiability which never forsook him:

"Pardon me, pardon me, but I am acquainted with you a little, even
though not personally. Weren't you in the university when Professor
Priklonsky defended the doctor's dissertation?"

"It was I," answered the reporter.

"Ah, that's very nice," smiled Yarchenko charmingly, and for some
reason once more pressed Platonov's hand vigorously. "I read your
report afterwards: very exactly, circumstantially and skillfully put
together ... Won't you favor me? ... To your health!"

"Then allow me, too," said Platonov. "Onuphriy Zakharich, pour out for
us again ... one ... two, three, four ... nine glasses of cognac..."

"Oh no, you can't do that ... you are our guest, colleague,"
remonstrated Lichonin.

"Well, now, what sort of colleague am I to you?" good-naturedly laughed
the reporter. "I was only in the first class and then only for half a
year--as an unmatriculated student. Here you are, Onuphriy Zakharich.
Gentlemen, I beg you..."

The upshot of it was that after half an hour Lichonin and Yarchenko did
not under any consideration want to part with the reporter and dragged
him with them to Yama. However, he did not resist.

"If I am not a burden to you, I would be very glad," he said simply.
"All the more since I have easy money to-day. THE DNIEPER WORD has paid
me an honorarium, and this is just as much of a miracle as winning two
hundred thousand on a check from a theatre coat room. Pardon me, I'll
be right back..."

He walked up to the old man with whom he had been sitting before,
shoved some money into his hand, and gently took leave of him.

"Where I'm going, grandpa, there you mustn't go--to-morrow we will meet
in the same place as to-day. Good-bye!"

They all walked out of the restaurant. At the door Borya Sobashnikov,
always a lit