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«It sounds reasonable» — thought Julia and continued her search till at last she found a very special advertisement which said: Human Soul Travellers Club offers you a wide choice of tours. You can visit any part of the world for 100».

«What a curious name for a travel agency and the price is incredibly low! I should try this» — said Julia to herself and the next morning went to the given address.

The weather was awful: the rain poured down and Julia almost gave up all hope of identifying the enigmatic travel agency in a row of bleak grey houses when suddenly she found herself in front of a massive wooden door with a bright inscription in gold letters: «Welcome to Human Soul Travellers Club!»

The bright golden letters emerged so unexpectedly out of the rain (for she could swear there had been no inscription on the door the moment before) that she was startled. Should she really open this door, which smelled positively Dickensian? Her impeccable intuition whispered in a thin frightened voice: «Run away! This place is dangerous!» But her insatiable curiosity murmured in a sweet persuasive tone: «Go in, why not?» Julia couldn’t resist the temptation and pushed the door open.

She was surprised to find behind that nineteenth century door an absolutely modern office, furnished in the latest fashion: the walls were plastered with glossy travelling ads, a dark-haired, black-eyed girl, unmistakably Chinese, was working at a personal computer. As she saw Julia, she greeted her with a smile on her porcelain face.

«What a special kind of a smile» — reflected Julia — «as if she is smiling not at me, but to herself».

— «Excuse me, can I book a tour round China here?»

— «Yes, madam. But you should speak to Mr. Toffiles, our manager. Will you wait a minute, please? I’ll tell him». And the Chinese — looking girl disappeared leaving her porcelain smile behind.

«What a special kind of a girl» — thought Julia — «just like a Cheshire cat». But that peculiarity didn’t especially worry her as she immediately started to study travelling ads: they were colourful, tempting, promising heaven on earth, they pleased and teased. Suddenly her attention was attracted by one leaflet which dirty and sullen did it look. And it wasn’t in English:

«What does it say», — wondered Julia and stared at unfamiliar letters as if trying to extract the message from them.