"Indeed, the sooner the better for all parties concerned.

Nothing is to be gained by delay, and if, as you say, the man has now been in England two months, he may soon be thinking of getting out of it again, if he has not done so already.
But before I embark on anything, you must answer me some questions." "A hundred, if you like," he returned.

"You have only to ask them and I will do my best to answer." "In the first place, I must have a description of this Mr.Gideon Hayle.
What is he like ?" "Tall, thin, with brown hair, and a short, close-cropped beard; he carries himself erect, and looks about thirty-eight." "You don't happen to have a photograph of him in your possession, I suppose ?" "No," replied Kitwater, shaking his head.

"Gideon Hayle is not the sort of man to allow himself to be photographed, and what's more you must remember that when we reached Nampoung, the station on the frontier of Burmah, we had scarcely a rag upon our backs.

Any goods and chattels we might once have possessed were in the hands of the Chinese.