“Thissoundsveryshocking，“heremarked。“Ihadnoideathatthelargestcityofthemostenlightenedcountryintheworldwasinsuchasorryplight。“
“Oh，curseyoursarcasm，“Mr。Horsersaid。“I’mtalkingfacts，andyou’vegottoknowthem。Willyougiveupthatreport？Youcanfindoutallthereisinitforyourself。ButI’mgoingtogiveityoustraight。IfIdon’thavethatreportbackunread，you’llneverleaveNewYork。“
Mr。Sabinwasgenuinelyamused。
“Mygoodfellow，“hesaid，“youhavemadeyourselfanotoriouspersoninthiscountrybydintofincessantbullyingandbribingandcorruptionofeverysort。Youmaypossessallthepowersyouclaim。Youronlymistakeseemstobethatyouaretoothick-headedtoknowwhenyouareovermatched。Ihavebeenadiplomatistallmylife，“Mr。Sabinsaid，risingslowlytohisfeet，andwithasuddenintentlookuponhisface，“andifIweretobeoutwittedbysuchanoviceasyouIshoulddeservetoendmydays-inNewYork。“
Mr。Horserrosealsotohisfeet。Asmileoftriumphwasonhislips。