The Mission of Poubalov — page 158: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

154 THE GHOST OF POUBALOYPD, to wander, and he would be conscious that he was dro ping into sleep when suddenly his nerves would seem be on fire with life, and he would start violently and gr the low rail of his bunk as if he were about to fall out. E dint of will power he compelled himself to remain ther although as the time passed he wasin momentary expect tion of arrest, He began to regret that he had shown hin self so freely. Once the steamer was under way he woul be able to rest undisturbed by phantasies for ten days After that, what matter? Those ten days should be pass in full enjoyment of his one successful act. : As the forenoon dragged along the steerage filled wit men, and there was a constant hum of voices, and fl shuffling of feet as the passengers jostled about in fl narrow quarters and stowed their baggage on and unde their bunks. Severalmen came into Litizki’s compar ment and took possession in turn of the unoccupied place Some of them remained, scraping acquaintance with o1 another, and passing about the liquor without copiot draughts of which few ocean travelers regard a voyage - properly begun. In the saloon, champagne serves as tI exhilarant fora scene that should need no wine to & healthy blood to sparkling; and in the steerage, the whi ky flask accomplishes its purpose just as effectively. - fellow-passenger offered his flask to Litizki. He was 1 drinker, and he accepted the friendly offering more to tract no comment to himself than because he craved stimulant. | Having mumbled “thanks, friend’’ and drunk as mu as his throat would tolerate of the fiery stuff, he lay doy again. A moment or two later he was surprised to fir that he felt more composed, distinctly drowsy, in fact. I correctly attributed this to the whisky, and he lay vé still in the hope that natural sleep would at last con upon him. This might have been the case, but he w aroused by a rough hand on his foot. ‘‘Come on there, my man; come on,”’ said a comman ing voice. comicbooks.cor