 part of the globe had the saving character of an
irregular sort of warfare or at least the risk and excitement of open-air sport.
His real abilities, which were mainly of an administrative order, were combined
with an adventurous disposition. Chained to a desk in the thick of four millions
of men, he considered himself the victim of an ironic fate - the same, no doubt,
which had brought about his marriage with a woman exceptionally sensitive in the
matter of colonial climate, besides other limitations testifying to the delicacy
of her nature - and her tastes. Though he judged his alarm sardonically he did
not dismiss the improper thought from his mind. The instinct of
self-preservation was strong within him. On the contrary, he repeated it
mentally with profane emphasis and a fuller precision: »Damn it! If that
infernal Heat has his way the fellow'll die in prison smothered in his fat, and
she'll never forgive me.«
    His black, narrow figure, with the white band of the collar under the
silvery gleams on the close-cropped hair at the back of the head, remained
motionless. The silence had lasted such a long time that Chief Inspector Heat
ventured to clear his throat. This noise produced its effect. The zealous and
intelligent officer was asked by his superior, whose back remained turned to him
immovably:
    »You connect Michaelis with this affair?«
    Chief Inspector Heat was very positive, but cautious.
    »Well, sir,« he said, »we have enough to go upon. A man like that has no
business to be at large, anyhow.«
    »You will want some conclusive evidence,« came the observation in a murmur.
    Chief Inspector Heat raised his eyebrows at the black, narrow back, which
remained obstinately presented to his intelligence and his zeal.
    »There will be no difficulty in getting up sufficient evidence against him,«
he said, with virtuous complacency. »You may trust me for that, sir,« he added,
quite unnecessarily, out of the fullness of his heart; for it seemed to him an
excellent thing to have that man in hand to be thrown down to the public should
it think fit to roar with any special indignation in this case. It was
impossible to say yet whether it would roar or not. That in the last instance
depended, of course, on the newspaper press. But in any case, Chief Inspector
Heat, purveyor of prisons by trade, and a man of legal instincts, did logically
believe that incarceration was the proper fate for every declared enemy of the
law.
