"Sortof．OI’msurewilliyou．Ioftewoyounggirlsgoinandoutofahalfburnthouse．Ifyame,we’llcheckitouta’sgoingon.”
"Yes．Yht．GirlsarewhatI’mmostiedin!"
"Don’tfetourpriorities，Jamaz．Weonlytakemoneyandvaluables．Wedonottouwillinggirls．Tonightwe’rejustlookingaround．Big-OhasbeehatviityandIwanttoknowwhatheisupto．Wemayevenbeabletoprotectthetwogirlsfromhim.”Finishingtheirmeal,thetwoofthempreparedfortheirnight’sadventure．
Thehowlingnightwiohaveblownawayalltheshadowsfromthestreetsastheywereobeseen，aheryraindropssprinkledonDimitri’sold，worn-outjacket．Heturnedandlookedatthestratingbesidehim，puffingawayathiscigarette，stillimmersedinhismusic,lostinreverieandfantasy,whilehisportableradiobredoutheart-rendingblues．Dimitrididnotwishtodisturbhim,butinthiscolddrearynighthethoughthewouldbebetteroffinhisdipidatedshelterinthenarrowalleyorthathalfburnthousewherehopefullyhecouldhidehimselfandmighthavesomesweetdreams．Herosegingerly,preparedtogowhehemanmutter，
"DoIreallyhavelungcer?Iotbelieveit!Itmustbeapracticaljokeoofthedoctors.”Dimitrisankabruptlybacktohisseat．Themaon．"I’tbethatunfortunate!I’vebeenunemployedforoverayearandhavebeendesperatelylookingforwork.HowIaffordtobecursedwiththisfataldiseasenow?Itmustbeajoke.”Inthedarknight,thunderrumblediandrainbeganpdownintorrents．
"AmIreallydiaghlungcer?Ifit’snotajoke，itmustbeGod’sjealousy．MynameisNapoleon．Informerlife,IonqueredEurope.Nowbackagainonthisearth,mypurposeistoquertheworld!"Theman’svoicegrewlouderandmoreinfuriateduntilhewasalmostshouting．AdeafeningpealofthundercrashedasifitwasGod’sahemanstoodupshakinghisfistsattheheavens．
"YouGod!Don’tbejealous!Iamtheunique,inparablehero．Iothavegottenlungcer!Youbejealousallyouwant．ThistimeIwillquerthewholeworld!Iamnotafraidofyou．Don’tbejealous!Don’tbejealous!"Hethrashedouthisarmsashespoke．Inhisfury,hethrewhisportableradiocrashingtotheground．Themusicabruptlystoppedandthemanranheadlongoutintotherain．
Dimitriwaostopthehystericalbutundauntedfigureasitdashedmadlyheadlongintotheprain；howeverhewastoote．Hesatlookingatthebrokenradioontheground．Thisnewcreationofman’siy,madeofmetal,pstidothermaterials.Thisintricatemaecouldnotwithstandtheheavycrash，justashumanfleshandbloodcouldnotwithstaackofcerouscells．Dimitripickedupthewreckwhichwasoncearadioandputitonhisp，gentlycaressingit，asiftoeaseitspain．Thenhisthoughtsturhestrangerwhohadsoretlysharedthebusshelterwithhimforashortwhile．Thereweresimiritiesbetweenthem，hethought，thoughtheywerenotreallyalike．Hethought，
"Thatmanhasbeenoutofworkforoverayear,whileIalmostneverworkedadayinmylife．Maybemylifeworkisdaydreaming．Thatmantooisadreamer．HisnameisNapoleon，ohemightyquerorofEuropeandEmperorofFranowhewantstoquertheworld．ThismaybewhyGodisjealousofhimandinflictedhimwithaterminaldisease．DiseaseaharethemostformidabletoolsGodusestotroltheworld．Man’smightiestonsareinsequentialbyparison．Inmydreams，Ihaveakingdomandamanalmightyking，surroundedbymatchlessbeautiesandstupendousriches．ButIhavenowishtoquertheworld．Ionlywanttodreamandloaf．PerhapsGoddoesn’tlikepeoplelikemeeither，soIamdoomedtolosemysightsoon．ButIdardthatasGod’sjealousy．Ithinkofitasablessingindisguise，becausewhenIlosemysight,1willnolongerbeabletoroamaroundtheworldandwouldhavetogobayKingdomandenjoya1ifeofluxuryandriches.”Dimitrismiledgently．Therainandwindhadincreasedinferocity,makingitimpossibleforhimtoleave．DuringthedayhehaddreamedthathisKingdomwasalsofagrainandstorm．AngelidElialkingonthebeach，whiletheotherbeautieswererowingontheke．Hewonderedwhethertheygotsafelybacktothepace．Whynottihedreamfromthere，hethought，sincehecouldnotgoanywhereinthatweatheranyhow．WheneverhisthoughtsturohismysteriousKingdomandthenumerousbeauties，awarmfeelingcameoverhim，obliteratingrain,cold,hungerandallotherworldlymiseries．Itwashisuniquewayofselfhealing．
ArfirewasburningbrightlyintheroomwithrgeFrendows．Therethebeautiesgatheredafterrunninginfromthetorrentialrainandstorm．Somewerestillvigorouslydryingtheirlongflowinghairwithrgetowels，somerestednguidlyonthecouches，whileotherssatohickcarpetindifferentgroupsandposes，drinkingstrongbckcoffeeorstimutingwihechillofasuddendrenghavingbeendispelledbytheirshowers，theirbodiesfeltrexedandfortableandtheirbloomingplexionsreflectedradiantfreshnessandcolor,flushedfromtheirretexertions．Everyohemwasthemostperfedbeautifunimaloftheirspecies．Gatheredtheretogether，iticturewhoseperfedefiedtheartistryofthegreatestpaihecoldaifulMedusastoodattheFrendowslookingoutattherain，uardasalways.Forretly,tracesofbarbariantribeshavebeenfouheKingdomandtheywouldbehardtoresistiftheyattackedduringthisruthlessstorm．Howevernotwishingtoarmtheotherbeautieswithherfears，shekeptherworriestoherself，shoulderingaloyofsafe-guardieriousKingdom．Suddenly，twosneezessounded．AishatossedsometissuestoDorna；ahoughtfulLotus，gehefullmoon,pouredacupofhotgingersoupfvoredbybrownsugarwhichshekeptboilinginacypot，andhaotheyounggirl，saying，
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