"What is that?" asked the young man, pointing to a huge iron cylinder embedded in the earth and rising some four-and-a-half feet above the floor.
"The cistern of which I spoke, as you can see for yourselves, it is all but full."
The porter hurried them on.
"That is the heating stove. There are conductors throughout the house. When it is in full blast the house is even too warm."
"But your grate stove is in pieces!" objected the stout man, pointing with his stick to iron plates torn out of one side of the central furnace.
"Oh, sir, that happened at the time of the floods. But it won't cost much to put it right. If you gentlemen will examine the inside of the apparatus you will see that the pipes are in perfect order."
The uncle followed the porter's suggestion.
"Your pipes are as big as chimneys; a man could pass through them."
The inspection ended, uncle and nephew bestowed a liberal tip on their guide. They would think it over and write or come again soon.
The two relatives retraced their steps to Boulevard Inkermann.