The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Second Class Passenger, by Perceval Gibbon

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Title: The Second Class Passenger
Fifteen Stories: The Second-Class Passenger -- The Sense of Climax -- The Trader of Last Notch -- The Murderer -- The Victim -- Between the Lights -- The Master -- "Parisienne" -- Lola -- The Poor in Heart -- The Man Who Knew -- The Hidden Way -- The Strange Patient -- The Captain's Arm -- The Widower

Author: Perceval Gibbon

Release Date: March 6, 2006 [eBook #17932]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SECOND CLASS PASSENGER***

E-text prepared by Charles Klingman

THE SECOND CLASS PASSENGER

Fifteen Stories

by

Perceval Gibbon

London Chapman & Dodd, Ltd. 25 Denmark Street, W.C. 2
First Published (Methuen & Co.) 6s. 1913
First Published in the Abbey Library 1922

CONTENTS

I. THE SECOND-CLASS PASSENGER
II. THE SENSE OF CLIMAX
III. THE TRADER OF LAST NOTCH
IV. THE MURDERER
V. THE VICTIM
VI. BETWEEN THE LIGHTS
VII. THE MASTER
VIII. "PARISIENNE"
IX. LOLA
X. THE POOR IN HEART
XI. THE MAN WHO KNEW
XII. THE HIDDEN WAY
XIII. THE STRANGE PATIENT
XIV. THE CAPTAIN'S ARM
XV. THE WIDOWER

I

THE SECOND-CLASS PASSENGER

The party from the big German mail-boat had nearly completed their
inspection of Mozambique, they had walked up and down the main
street, admired the palms, lunched at the costly table of Lazarus,
and purchased "curios"--Indian silks, Javanese; knives, Birmingham
metal-work, and what not--as mementoes of their explorations. In
particular, Miss Paterson had invested in a heavy bronze image--
apparently Japanese--concerning which she entertained the thrilling
delusion that it was an object of local worship. It was a grotesque
thing, massive and bulky, weighing not much less than ten or twelve
pounds. Hence it was confided to the careful porterage of Dawson, an
assiduous and favored courtier of Miss Paterson; and he, having
lunched, was fated to leave it behind at Lazarus' Hotel.

Miss Paterson shook her fluffy curls at him. Th