The Mission of Poubalov — page 31: what you’re looking at

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

AN IMPERFECT VISION. 27 tion that the flight of Lizzie White was closely connected with the disappearance of Ivan Strobel. He was not dis- loyal to his friend even in his thoughts; he kept insisting to himself that Ivan was not the man to play all his friends double, but even as he rebelled against this possible ex- planation of the matter, reason interposed its stern voice to say that if, after all, Strobel had discovered that he loved Lizzie and not Clara, this was the probable course he would take to avoid facing the comments and criticisms of his friends; and although he repelled the explanation with all his will, he nevertheless felt a dreadful. sense of doubt. ‘‘Mrs.- White,’’ he said gravely, ‘Shave you any reason to think that Strobel and your daughter went away to- gether?”’ The landlady started as if she had been shot. ‘Of course not!’’ she cried; ‘Show could you think such a thing? Why should you insult my poor child——’’ and she broke down and sobbed bitterly. ‘Palovna was miserable. He sawthat he had utterly misinterpreted Mrs. White’s reluctance in answering his questions; that, far from suspecting that Lizzie’s de- parture might be an elopement with Ivan, she had in- stinctively tried to guard her daughter’s secret. ‘‘Tam exceedingly sorry that I have hurt you,’’ said Paul, contritely, ‘‘I don’t think, cannot think that they have gone together; but, you see, I am in such a maze of anxiety about Strobel, everything is so strange and uncer- tain, that I—I hardly knew what I said.’’ He paused, and Mrs. White, still sobbing, uttered some words of which the only one he understood was ‘“‘cruel,’’ | and he promptly accepted it as applied to himself. ‘*T can only repeat that Iam sorry,’’ he said. ‘‘Here is your letter. I fear I can be of no help to you unless you want me to take some message for you.”’ ‘*‘No—you cannot do anything now—I know you didn’t mean it. Please come again to-morrow—when I can think —please, Mr. Palovna.”’ Commiclobooks (C(O)