"Shall we call it off ?" "As a matter of fact I am rather short of time just now." "Then let us postpone it.

I shall probably be at my office if you are anxious to see me." Quarrier looked at him, then laid aside his hat and sat down.

There was little to be done in diplomacy with an oaf like that.
"Mr.Plank," he said, without any emphasis at all, "there should be some way for us to come together.

Have you considered it ?" "No, I haven't," replied Plank.
"I mean, for you and me to try to understand each other." "For us ?" asked Plank, raising his blond eyebrows.

"Do you mean Amalgamated Electric and Inter-County, impersonally ?" "I mean for us, personally." "There is no way," said Plank, with conviction.
"I think there is." "You are wasting time thinking it, Mr.Quarrier." Quarrier's velvet-fringed eyes began to narrow, but his calm voice remained unchanged: "We are merely wasting energy in this duel," he said.
"Oh, no; I don't feel wasted." "We are also wasting opportunities," continued Quarrier slowly.