fferent, as if she wished to be merely 'the daughter of the house'
in conversation with the young man, "the vodka is not in the wine chest,
after all. What has Ermolai done with it, then?"

She ran over to the buffet and found the flask.

"Oh, here it is. Papa shan't be without it, after all."

Rouletabille was already into the garden again.

"If that is the only doubt she has," he said to himself, "I can reassure
her. No one could come, excepting by the window. And only one came that
way."

The young girl had rejoined him, bringing the flask. They crossed the
garden together to the general, who was whiling away the time as he
waited for his vodka explaining to Matrena Petrovna the nature of "the
constitution." He had spilt a box of matches on the table and arranged
them carefully.

"Here," he cried to Natacha and Rouletabille. "Come here and I will
explain to you as well what this Constitution amounts to."

The young people leaned over his demonstration curiously and all eyes in
the kiosk were intent on the matches.

"You see that match," said Feodor Feodorovitch. "It is the Emperor. And
this other match is the Empress; this one is the Tsarevitch; and that
one is the Grand-duke Alexander; and these are the other granddukes.
Now, here are the ministers and there the principal governors, and then
the generals; these here are the bishops."

The whole box of matches was used up, and each match was in its place,
as is the way in an empire where proper etiquette prevails in government
and the social order.

"Well," continued the general, "do you want to know, Matrena Petrovna,
what a constitution is? There! That is the Constitution."

The general, with a swoop of his hand, mixed all the matches.
Rouletabille laughed, but the good Matrena said:

"I don't understand, Feodor."

"Find the Emperor now."

Then Matrena understood. She laughed heartily, she laughed violently,
and Natacha laughed also. Delighted with his success, Feodor
Feodorovitch took up one of the little glasses that Natacha had filled
with the vodka she brought.

"Listen, my children," said he. "We are going to commence the zakouskis.
Koupriane ought to have been here before this."

Saying this, holding still the little glass in his hand, he felt in his
pocket with the other for his watch, and drew out a magnificent large
watch whose ticking was easily heard.

"Ah, the watch has come back from the repairer," Rouletabille remarked
smilingly