And this was an excellent
occasion to suppress you altogether. For if you accepted he was relieved
of you with every appearance of humanity, and if you made objections
(after requesting his assistance, mind you) it was open to him to drop
you as a sort of impostor. You might have had to decline that berth for
some very valid reason. From sheer necessity perhaps. The notice was
too uncommonly short. But under the circumstances you'd have covered
yourself with ignominy."
Our new friend knocked the ashes out of his pipe.
"Quite a mistake," he said. "I am not of the declining sort, though I'll
admit it was something like telling a man that you would like a bath and
in consequence being instantly knocked overboard to sink or swim with
your clothes on. However, I didn't feel as if I were in deep water at
first. I left the shipping office quietly and for a time strolled along
the street as easy as if I had a week before me to fit myself out. But
by and by I reflected that the notice was even shorter than it looked.
The afternoon was well advanced; I had some things to get, a lot of small
matters to attend to, one or two persons to see.
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