dthenannouncedheriionofdonatingalloftheonemilliondiventoherbyWorldBanktocharity．Enthusiasticappuseapaniedherbacktohertable,whereDimitristoodupgtosaluteher．

    "Thankyou,”shesaidasshesatdown．"Wherewereyou?Ithoughtyouwereboredandslippedaway!"

    "Ohno!Iwouldhattoyou．Ijustwenttothemen’sroom.”

    "I’msorrytohaveleftyoutoyourowndevicesallnight．Oh,myfeetarekillingme!"shemoaned．"Highheelsarereallyapgue,especiallywhendang．I’dgiveanythingtotakeoffmyshoes,soakthesepoorfeetinwarmwaterandgivethemagoodmassage．Butitwasfoodcauseandmyborwillbearfruit,becauseI’vebeenlobbyinghardandtheyallpromisedtodonate.”

    14

    Atanearbytabletheyoungwoman，el，keptgngatthemuzzledexpression;asifshetoo,wassearghermemoryforhisfamiliarfigure,tryingtorecollectwheretheyhadmetbefore．Oform,thevicepresidentwasdrummingupdonations．Theamountbecamergerandrger，asifthedonors，unwillingtobeoutdoherswerepetingtoprovetheirwealthandstatus．Dimitrisatthere,aloofandquiet，anoutsider,untouchedbythenoisy,excitedenthusiasm.Suddenlyitdawnedonhimthatshewasthespirituaifulnunhehadmetatdaybreakoreetduringhiswanderings．Itwasshewhoedhiswoundedhandsosoftlywithherhandkerchiefsothatthoughhiswoundedhandwastornandbleeding,hedidhepain．Whywasshedressedlikethatnow?hewondered．Hadshelefttheorders?Hethenrememberedthathehadcaughtaglimpseofherasshebathedinahpolikeapearlinthemidstoftalltreesandluxurianttropicalflowers,whenahugeivorousleaf,freshanddewy，curledupandenvelopedher．Hehadcriedoutandruntohelpher,buthadwokenupwithastartfromhisdream，therebylosingalltracesofherwhereabouts．Faingherhere!Hedidnotknowhowlonghehadsatthereimmersedinthoughtandreverie,butthewordsofthevicepresidentwokehimuptoreality，

    "Thoughthedonatioillfarfrommeetingoal,itismorethanwhatthePresidentwasabletoamassforhispresidentialcampaign．Thankyou，diesalemen，foryenerosity．Wehavetostopnowandgoonwiththeotheritemsoftonight’sprogram，butaspeciathasbeenopeWorldBank．Ihopethoseofyouwhoareiedinaidingthecauseofthedisabledwilltiosendinyourcheckstothatat.”

    "Waitaminute,”calledoutDimitristandingup．"I’lldowobilliondolrs.”

    "Twomilliondood!Ladiesalemen,thisgentlemanherehasdowomilliondolrs!Thankyouverymuch,sir!"

    "No，no，no．Nottwomillion．Twobilliondolrs．Billion．Basinboy.”Arippleofsurpriseanddisbeliefpassedthroughtheroomasheadsturoseewhoitwasthatmadesuchapreposterousoffer．

    "Twobillion,sir?DidIhearright?Orwasitaslipofthetongue?Howyouproveyouwillhonorthedonation?"Snickersofridiculeandderisiongrewlouderasdidtheexcmationsofsurpriseanddisbelief．Dimitrimadehiswaycalmlytotheptformandhandedaslipofpapertothevicepresident,saying，

    "SinceyouarethevicepresidentofWorldBank,Ithinkyouwillreizethis.”Theman’seyesbulgedashelookedatthespeciallydesignedcheckassigoDimitriJaforhishuge,astronomicaltransasandreizedtheuniquescrawlresemblingasdragon．Heannounatremblingvoice，

    "TwobilliondolrsfromMr.DimitriJa!"Theroomwasinanuproarandeveryoneedtheirocatchaglimpseofthemysterioustrillionairewhohadneverbeforebeenseeninpublic．Tothinkthathehadanonymouslybeenintheirmid

dthenannouncedheriionofdonatingalloftheonemilliondiventoherbyWorldBanktocharity．Enthusiasticappuseapaniedherbacktohertable,whereDimitristoodupgtosaluteher．

    "Thankyou,”shesaidasshesatdown．"Wherewereyou?Ithoughtyouwereboredandslippedaway!"

    "Ohno!Iwouldhattoyou．Ijustwenttothemen’sroom.”

    "I’msorrytohaveleftyoutoyourowndevicesallnight．Oh,myfeetarekillingme!"shemoaned．"Highheelsarereallyapgue,especiallywhendang．I’dgiveanythingtotakeoffmyshoes,soakthesepoorfeetinwarmwaterandgivethemagoodmassage．Butitwasfoodcauseandmyborwillbearfruit,becauseI’vebeenlobbyinghardandtheyallpromisedtodonate.”

    14

    Atanearbytabletheyoungwoman，el，keptgngatthemuzzledexpression;asifshetoo,wassearghermemoryforhisfamiliarfigure,tryingtorecollectwheretheyhadmetbefore．Oform,thevicepresidentwasdrummingupdonations．Theamountbecamergerandrger，asifthedonors，unwillingtobeoutdoherswerepetingtoprovetheirwealthandstatus．Dimitrisatthere,aloofandquiet，anoutsider,untouchedbythenoisy,excitedenthusiasm.Suddenlyitdawnedonhimthatshewasthespirituaifulnunhehadmetatdaybreakoreetduringhiswanderings．Itwasshewhoedhiswoundedhandsosoftlywithherhandkerchiefsothatthoughhiswoundedhandwastornandbleeding,hedidhepain．Whywasshedressedlikethatnow?hewondered．Hadshelefttheorders?Hethenrememberedthathehadcaughtaglimpseofherasshebathedinahpolikeapearlinthemidstoftalltreesandluxurianttropicalflowers,whenahugeivorousleaf,freshanddewy，curledupandenvelopedher．Hehadcriedoutandruntohelpher,buthadwokenupwithastartfromhisdream，therebylosingalltracesofherwhereabouts．Faingherhere!Hedidnotknowhowlonghehadsatthereimmersedinthoughtandreverie,butthewordsofthevicepresidentwokehimuptoreality，

    "Thoughthedonatioillfarfrommeetingoal,itismorethanwhatthePresidentwasabletoamassforhispresidentialcampaign．Thankyou，diesalemen，foryenerosity．Wehavetostopnowandgoonwiththeotheritemsoftonight’sprogram，butaspeciathasbeenopeWorldBank．Ihopethoseofyouwhoareiedinaidingthecauseofthedisabledwilltiosendinyourcheckstothatat.”

    "Waitaminute,”calledoutDimitristandingup．"I’lldowobilliondolrs.”

    "Twomilliondood!Ladiesalemen,thisgentlemanherehasdowomilliondolrs!Thankyouverymuch,sir!"

    "No，no，no．Nottwomillion．Twobilliondolrs．Billion．Basinboy.”Arippleofsurpriseanddisbeliefpassedthroughtheroomasheadsturoseewhoitwasthatmadesuchapreposterousoffer．

    "Twobillion,sir?DidIhearright?Orwasitaslipofthetongue?Howyouproveyouwillhonorthedonation?"Snickersofridiculeandderisiongrewlouderasdidtheexcmationsofsurpriseanddisbelief．Dimitrimadehiswaycalmlytotheptformandhandedaslipofpapertothevicepresident,saying，

    "SinceyouarethevicepresidentofWorldBank,Ithinkyouwillreizethis.”Theman’seyesbulgedashelookedatthespeciallydesignedcheckassigoDimitriJaforhishuge,astronomicaltransasandreizedtheuniquescrawlresemblingasdragon．Heannounatremblingvoice，

    "TwobilliondolrsfromMr.DimitriJa!"Theroomwasinanuproarandeveryoneedtheirocatchaglimpseofthemysterioustrillionairewhohadneverbeforebeenseeninpublic．Tothinkthathehadanonymouslybeenintheirmid