Quotation from: The Secret AgentWritten by: Joseph Conrad |
|
This was not the only circumstance whose recollection depressed the usual serenity of the eminent specialist. There was another dating back only to that very morning. The thought that when called urgently to his Assistant Commissioner's private room he had been unable to conceal his astonishment was distinctly vexing. His instinct of a successful man had taught him long ago that, as a general rule, a reputation is built on manner as much as on achievement. And he felt that his manner when confronted with the telegram had not been impressive. He had opened his eyes widely, and had exclaimed "Impossible!" exposing himself thereby to the unanswerable retort of a finger-tip laid forcibly on the telegram which the Assistant Commissioner, after reading it aloud, had flung on the desk. To be crushed, as it were, under the tip of a forefinger was an unpleasant experience. Very damaging, too! Furthermore, Chief Inspector Heat was conscious of not having mended matters by allowing himself to express a conviction.
|
| PREVIOUS GROUP HOME SITE HOME NEXT |
| Old Dominion University CS Dept Designed by Joan A. Smith for the CRATE project Created: 2007-2-22T12:35:29Z Part of the CratePreservation Project Change Tag: ~~ 0 ~~ |
| Part of a series of experiments in web preservation under the direction of Michael L. Nelson, Ph.D. |