The Mission of Poubalov — page 160: what you’re looking at

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

156 THE GHOST OF POUBALOYD, long drink. That’s it! down with it, he! he! Pleasant voyage to you, Billings, my boy!’’ He patted the young fellow on the shoulder; and Bil- lings, supposing that his hand was extended to take the flask, turned his back, and when he had drunk, corked the flask and remarked thickly: ‘I'll keep it thish time.’’ ‘“‘All right, all right,’’ responded Dexter; ‘‘you have it now. I’m going on deck. It’s too close here.”’ He hobbled away, and Billings staggered after him. Full of wonder, and almost forgetting his own part in — the Strobel matter, Litizki descended from his bunk and — went up to the deck also. To his amazement, he found ~ that the Cephalonia was already a hundred yards from the dock. Several conceited little tugs were puffing away at stem and stern, to turn the gigantic ship about. A great crowd of people were on the pier, waving hands and handkerchiefs, and the salutes were frantically returned by the hundreds on board who crowded close to the rail. Billings had gone to the rail away from the shore, and Dexter stood beside him, still talking with forced jocular- ity, to which the young man listened with only half com- prehension. The most that his fuddled brain could recog- nize was that he was on board a steamer bound for Eu rope, a big enough fact in itself to subdue the ordinary mind. Litizki watched the pair with troubled curiosity. Could this be the same Billings? and could his going away por- tend any failure for the plan that Litizki had executed at such heroic self-sacrifice? It could not be possible! The guilty driver might well flee from punishment, but neither his presence nor his absence could materially affect the outcome, Thinking thus, the tailor allowed his eyes to wander from Billings and Dexter, taking in the sights of the ship with indifferent interest. Suddenly he retreated a pace, and grasped a hatchway to prevent himself from tee prone upon the deck. Were all his railings ajuda