The Mission of Poubalov — page 172: what you’re looking at

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

168 WHAT PAUL PALOVNA SAW. a chair to the door, stood upon it, and began to bore, sta ing ata level with his eyes, and slanting slightly down- ward. His notion was that Poubalov would not be so likely to observe the tiny hole if it were a foot or ft above his head as if it were lower. For the same n he bored very close to the edge of a panel, and he took great care not to let the gimlet more than pierce the further side of the wood. It would never do to let any fresh dust show on the carpet in Poubalov’s room. After frequent experiments, to observe how far he had penetrated, he found that he could faintly discern light from Pouablov’s windows when he placed his e close to the door and shaded it with his hands. Then he took a rusty nail that he pulled from the wall of his closet, and, working it patiently with his fingers, pushed ; through the partially-bored hole until half its length must have protruded into the other room. A little more effort and he could put the nail in place and withdraw it out the slightest noise. Among the trifles that had ac mulated in his possessions was an unframed lithograph rep. resenting cupids throwing flowers as big as themselves at one another. He could hardly remember how he came to have it; some young lady sent it to him, probably, as long ago as last Valentine’s Day; but there it was, with 7 neat little card attached; and he hung it on the nail to ex- cuse his operation should the landledy happen to notice it. There were plenty of hooks in the room, but he would i tell her that it was his fancy to embellish the door. - ‘‘There,’? he thought, as he contemplated his finished work, “if our spy is not more observing and suspicious — than I think he is, I shall be able to take a look at him oc casionally.’’ Having carefully cleaned up the slight litter he} made, he locked the door of his room and went to make his report to Clara. He told her frankly that he believed Litizki had mistaken about the little front room. ‘‘But,’’ he added, “ “ have taken the back room for a week, and @onntedsoom ao