Three thousand miles from home and twenty roubles in his pocket-getting home was definitely out of the question.
Father Theodore passed the Turkish bazaar-where he was advised in a perfect stage whisper to buy some Coty powder, silk stockings and contraband Batumi tobacco-dragged himself to the station, and lost himself in the crowd of porters.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
UP IN THE CLOUDS
Three days after the concessionaires' deal with Mechnikov the fitter, the Columbus Theatre left by railway via Makhacha-Kala and Baku.
The whole of these three days the concessionaires, frustrated by the contents of the two chairs opened on Mashuk, waited for Mechnikov to bring them the third of the Columbus chairs.
But the narzan-tortured fitter converted the whole of the twenty roubles into the purchase of plain vodka and drank himself into such a state that he was kept locked up in the props room.
"That's Mineral Waters for you!" said Ostap, when he heard about the theatre's departure. "A useful fool, that fitter.
Catch me having dealings with theatre people after this!"
Ostap became much more nervy than before.
The chances of finding the treasure had increased infinitely.
"We need money to get to Vladikavkaz," said Ostap.
"From there we'll drive by car to Tiflis along the Georgian Military Highway.
Glorious scenery!
Magnificent views!
Wonderful mountain air!
And at the end of it all-one hundred and fifty thousand roubles, zero zero kopeks.
There is some point in continuing the hearing."
But it was not quite so easy to leave Mineral Waters.
Vorobyaninov proved to have absolutely no talent for bilking the railway, and so when all attempts to get him aboard a train had failed he had to perform again in the Flower Garden, this time as an educational district ward.
This was not at all a success.
Two roubles for twelve hours' hard and degrading work, though it was a large enough sum for the fare to Vladikavkaz.
At Beslan, Ostap, who was travelling without a ticket, was thrown off the train, and the smooth operator impudently ran behind it for a mile or so, shaking his fist at the innocent Ippolit Matveyevich.
Soon after, Ostap managed to jump on to a train slowly making its way to the Caucasian ridge.
From his position on the steps Ostap surveyed with great curiosity the panorama of the mountain range that unfolded before him.
It was between three and four in the morning.
The mountain-tops were lit by dark pink sunlight.
Ostap did not like the mountains.
"Too showy," he said. "Weird kind of beauty.
An idiot's imagination.
No use at all."
At Vladikavkaz station the passengers were met by a large open bus belonging to the Transcaucasian car-hire-and-manufacturing society, and nice, kind people said:
"Those travelling by the Georgian Military Highway will be taken into the town free."
"Hold on, Pussy," said Ostap. "We want the bus.
Let them take us free."
When the bus had given him a lift to the centre of the town, however, Ostap was in no hurry to put his name down for a seat in a car.
Talking enthusiastically to Ippolit Matveyevich, he gazed admiringly at the view of the cloud-enveloped Table Mountain, but finding that it really was like a table, promptly retired.
They had to spend several days in Vladikavkaz.
None of their attempts to obtain money for the road fare met with any success, nor provided them with enough money to buy food.
An attempt to make the citizens pay ten-kopek bits failed.
The mountain ridge was so high and clear that it was not possible to charge for looking at it.
It was visible from practically every point, and there were no other beauty spots in Vladikavkaz.
There was the Terek, which flowed past the
"Trek", but the town charged for entry to that without Ostap's assistance.
The alms collected in two days by Ippolit Matveyevich only amounted to thirteen kopeks.
"There's only one thing to do," said Ostap. "We'll go to Tiflis on foot.
We can cover the hundred miles in five days.
Don't worry, dad, the mountain view is delightful and the air is bracing . . . We only need money for bread and salami sausage.
You can add a few Italian phrases to your vocabulary, or not, as you like; but by evening you've got to collect at least two roubles.
We won't have a chance to eat today, dear chum.