The rapidity with which the sick man got off the poop must have
astonished the boatswain. But Powell, at the moment he opened the door
leading into the saloon from the quarter-deck, had managed to control his
agitation. He entered swiftly but without noise and found himself in the
dark part of the saloon, the strong sheen of the lamp on the other side
of the curtains visible only above the rod on which they ran. The door
of Mr. Smith's cabin was in that dark part. He passed by it assuring
himself by a quick side glance that it was imperfectly closed. "Yes," he
said to me. "The old man must have been watching through the crack. Of
that I am certain; but it was not for me that he was watching and
listening. Horrible! Surely he must have been startled to hear and see
somebody he did not expect. He could not possibly guess why I was coming
in, but I suppose he must have been concerned." Concerned indeed! He
must have been thunderstruck, appalled.
Powell's only distinct aim was to remove the suspected tumbler. He had
no other plan, no other intention, no other thought.
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