“Of course I should care,—very much indeed,” she replied calmly. “I am sure that everybody would be terribly grieved if anything were to happen to you out there.”
“Well,—good-bye, Miss Clinton. I guess they're waiting for me.”
“Good-bye! Oh, how I wish I were in your place! Just to put my foot on the blessed, green earth once more. Good-bye! And—and good luck, again.”
“If you will take a pair of glasses and watch the top of that hill,—there is a bare knob up there, you see,—you will know long before we come back whether this island is inhabited or not. I am taking an American flag with me. If we do not see another flag floating anywhere on this island, I intend to plant the Stars and Stripes on that hill,—just for luck!”
She walked a few steps at his side, their bodies aslant against the slope of the deck.
“And if you do not raise the flag, we shall know at once that—that there are other people here?” she said, her voice eager with suppressed excitement. “It will mean that ships—” Her voice failed her.
“It will mean home,—some day,” he returned solemnly.
The one remaining port-side boat was lowered a few minutes later and to the accompaniment of cheers from the throng that lined the rails, the men pulled away, heading for a tiny cove on the far side of the basin. The shore at that point was sloping and practically clear of undergrowth.
It was while Percival was waiting to take his place in the boat that Olga Obosky hurried up to him.
“I have brought my luck piece for you,” she said, and revealed in her open palm a small gold coin, worn smooth with age and handling. “Carry it, my friend. Nothing will happen to you while it is in your possession. It was given me by the son of a Grand Duke. It was his lucky piece. It brought me luck, for he was killed zat very same day, and so I was saved from him. Keep it in your pocket till you come safely back and then—then you shall return it to me, because I would not be without my luck, no.” She slipped her hand deep into his trousers pocket. “There is no hole. That is good. I have place it there. It is safe. Au revoir! You will have good luck, my friend.”