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Excerpt from Bat Wing
I nodded, smiling. I was quite content to sit and watch my friend at work.
Paul Harley occupied a unique place in the mael strom Of Vice and ambition which is sometimes called London life. Whilst at present he-held no official post, some Of the most momentous problems Of British policy during the past five years, problems imperilling inter state relationships and not infrequently threatening a renewal Of the world war, had owed their solution to the peculiar genius Of this man.
NO clue to his profession appeared upon the plain brass plate attached to his door, and little did those who regarded Paul Harley merely as a successful private detective suspect that he was in the confidence Of some who guided the destinies Of the Empire. Paul Harley's work in Constantinople during the feverish months preceding hostilities with Turkey, although unknown to the general public, had been Of a most extraordinary nature. His recommendations were never adopted, unfortunately. Otherwrse, the tragedy Of the Dar danelles might have been averted.
His surroundings as he sat there, gaze bent upon the typewritten pages, were those of any Other professional man. SO It would have seemed to the casual Observer. But perhaps there was a quality In the atmosphere Of the Office which would have told a more sensitive visitor that It was the apartment Of no ordinary man Of busi ness. Whilst there were filing cabinets and book shelves laden with works Of reference, many Of them legal, a large and handsome Burmese cabinet struck an unexpected note.
On closer inspection, Other splashes Of significant colour must have been detected in the scheme, notably a very fine engraving Of Edgar Allan Poe, from the daguerreotype Of 1848; and upon the man himself lay the indelible mark Of the tropics. His Clean-cut features had that hint Of underlying bronze which tells Of years spent beneath a merciless sun, and the touch Of gray - at his temples only added to the eager, almost fierce vitality Of the dark face. Paul Harley was not able because Of that intellectual strength which does not strike one immediately, since it is purely tempera mental, but which, nevertheless, invests its possessor with an aura Of distinction.
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