The Mission of Poubalov — page 30: what you’re looking at

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

26 AN IMPERFECT VISION. Paul was somewhat nettled at this apparent effort to juggle with his question. The situation seemed to him too serious to admit of anything but the most complete frank- ness. ‘“T don’t ask how you know, or why you don’l, Mrs. White,’’ he said as gently as he could; ‘‘I simply asked for a statement of fact.’’ The landlady looked down at the floor, evidently trying to frame an answer. Paul would have dropped the matter right there, disgusted at her reticence if not her indirec- tion, had he not been determined to learn everything pos- sible that might throw light upon the fate of his friends. So he began on another tack. ‘‘Weren’t you invited to Strobel’s wedding, Mrs. White?’’ he asked. ‘‘Yes,’’ she replied promptly, not suspecting the ulti- mate nae of the question; ‘‘both of us received invita- tions.’ ‘Why didn’t you go?”’ ‘‘Lizzie didn’t want to go. She said weddings always mangle her feel solemn, and I didn’t want to go without her.’ ‘‘Wasn’t there a deeper reason, Mrs. White, for your daughter’s reluctance to go to Ivan Strobel’s wedding?”’ ‘‘T don’t know what you mean, Mr. Paloyna,’’ said the landlady, glancing at him and averting her eyes. Paul wanted to tell her that she was trying to dodge him, but he controlled himself and said: ‘‘T mean that in my opinion your daughter was hope- lessly in love with Ivan.”’ This statement did not provoke the storm that Paul had expected. Mrs. White’s reserve had prepared him for an outburst of denials, indignant tears and the like, but the old lady sat very still, her hands clasped upon her lap, and after a little silence she spoke dreamily: ‘‘Lizzie never told me, but I guessed as much long ago, poor, dear girl!”’ | Paul’s heart sank as he felt his fears growing ta va ay: 8 om: OKS