The Mission of Poubalov — page 109: what you’re looking at

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

—- WHAT BECAME OF LITIZKTI. 105 prepared. Who? There must have been someobdy who had a great object to attain in preventing the marriage, or in getting possession of lvan. Suppose it were Poubalov, what then? With the insight he himself had given her into his character, would he not do everything possible to throw her off the right track? If he had abducted Ivan, would he hesitate to abduct Litizki if he found that the lit- tle tailor was in his way? lt was vain to speculate for a reason for Poubalov’s main action; that must lie in his capacity as a paid spy of a government with which Ivan, apparently, had been at one time in conflict. His subsequent actions, so far as she knew them, were 211 explainable on the theory that he had had to do with Ivan’s disappearance. And so her thoughts revolved around Poublaovy, finding at every turn a trace of obliquity that was whoily in con- ‘sonance with his character and his confessed methods. Clara felt that her reasoning was bringing her fo no def- inite end, although her brain teemed with courses of ac- tion that might have been possible could she have com- manded the services of a corps of shrewd, faithful detect- ives. It is generally so with persons who have a great task to accomplish; they find themselves with more plans than resources, more brains than hands. Clara had just come to the sensible conclusion that, compelled to work substantially alone, she would undertake exactly one thing at a time, and, having chosen a line of inquiry, would follow it uninterruptedly to the end, when a serv- ant announced that a man had called to see her. ‘*T couldn’t catch his name, Miss Clara,’’ said the serv- ant, ‘‘but I’m afraid he’sa beggar, he looks so forlorn and seedy. ’”’ Clara knew who it was and she sprang from her chair with more eagerness and animation than she had mani- fested at any time since the disastrous wedding day. She fairly ran into the drawing-room, both her hands ex- tended, her face radiant with smiles, and completely over- whelmed poor Litizki with the warmth of her greeting, __ SS (C(O)