FROM PILLAR TO POST
125
goods which never belonged to you and now belong to the Government.” ‘ He was quite ashamed of himself and soon slunk away. I went back to my rooms in “ The Sorbonne ” and began to think out my future plans. And I thought of something that would never even enter the head of such a shaved old fool. I decided to find the man who had distributed the confiscated furniture. And what do you think, Katinka, my studies in the Faculty of Law are after aU proving to be quite useful: I found the man. I found him the very next day. He was a very decent old man and he gave me all the documents. Of course I had to give him something for his trouble, so I am left without any money, but we’ll speak of that later. It turns out that the twelve chairs from Vorobianinov’s drawing room were handed over to an engineer called Bruns, who lives at Number 34 Vinogradny Street. All the twelve chairs were sent to one man, which I had never anticipated. I was afraid they would have been scattered. I was very pleased about this. Then I suddenly came across that wretch again. This time it was in “ The Sorbonne”. I gave him a piece of my mind, and I did not spare his friend, the bandit. I was very much afraid they would discover my secret so I stayed in my room until they left. ‘ I hear that Bruns left Stargorod in 1923, because he was appointed to a better position in Kharkov. I discovered from the porter that he had taken all his furniture with him and that he looks after it very carefully. I am told he is a very respectable man. ‘ I am now sitting on the Kharkov railway station, and this is why I am writing to you : (i) Because I love you very much and often think of you, and (2) to tell you that Bruns has left Kharkov. But don’t be sad, Bruns is now working in Rostov. I have only just enough money for the journey. I am leaving
