The Black Gang quotes
The lines readers remember from The Black Gang, by H. C. McNeile.
15 quotes · About the book
Standout lines
Hoxton is hardly in that part of London where large sums of money might be expected to change hands
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The second and third floors were apparently occupied by his staff, which seemed unduly large considering the locality and quality of his business.
Hoxton is hardly in that part of London where large sums of money might be expected to change hands
, and yet there was no doubt that Mr. William Atkinson’s staff was both large and busy.
The hope that had once been theirs of work and plenty was dead; there was nothing for them to do—they were just units in the vast army of unemployed.
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A few women here and there mingled with them, but there was no laughing or jesting—only the sullenness of lost hope.
The hope that had once been theirs of work and plenty was dead; there was nothing for them to do—they were just units in the vast army of unemployed.
Occasionally a man better dressed and more prosperous than the others would detach himself from one group and go to another, where he would hold forth long and earnestly. And his listeners would nod their heads vigorously or laugh sheepishly as he passed on.
Charles Latter was unmoral rather than immoral: he was a constitutional coward with a strong liking for underhand intrigue, and he was utterly and entirely selfish.
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No thought of the abominable crime he had planned only that afternoon disturbed his equanimity; as has been said, he was not a pleasant specimen of humanity.
Charles Latter was unmoral rather than immoral: he was a constitutional coward with a strong liking for underhand intrigue, and he was utterly and entirely selfish.
In his way he was ambitious: he wanted power, but, though in many respects he was distinctly able, he lacked that essential factor—the ability to work for it. He hated work: he wanted easy results. And to obtain lasting results is not easy, as Mr.
“After profound experience, old lad,” he remarked, coming to anchor by the bar, “I have come to the conclusion that there is only one thing in this world better than having a cocktail at twelve o’clock.”
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He gently propelled the inspector through the doors of the celebrated club, still babbling cheerfully.
“After profound experience, old lad,” he remarked, coming to anchor by the bar, “I have come to the conclusion that there is only one thing in this world better than having a cocktail at twelve o’clock.”
“What’s that?” said McIver perfunctorily.
“There are markets for anything in this world, if one takes the trouble to look for them.”
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“Don’t you believe it,” snapped the other.
“There are markets for anything in this world, if one takes the trouble to look for them.”
He was pacing up and down the room, and for a while she stood watching him in silence.
Cancer is a small growth compared to the full body of the victim it kills: the cancer of one man’s tongue will kill a crowd of a thousand.
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It’s not as difficult as it looks; it’s not such a big proposition as it seems.
Cancer is a small growth compared to the full body of the victim it kills: the cancer of one man’s tongue will kill a crowd of a thousand.
We’re a free country, Sir John; but the time is coming when freedom as we understood it in the past will have to cease. We can’t go on as the cesspit of Europe, sheltering microbes who infect us as soon as they are here.
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- IV: In Which Count Zadowa Gets a Shock
- V: In Which Charles Latter, M.P., Goes Mad
- VI: In Which an Effusion Is Sent to the Newspapers
- IX: In Which There Is a Stormy Supper Party at the Ritz
- XV: In Which Hugh Drummond Arrives at Maybrick Hall
- XVI: In Which Things Happen at Maybrick Hall
- XVII: In Which a Murderer Is Murdered at Maybrick Hall
- XVIII: In Which the Home Secretary Is Taught the Foxtrot
IV: In Which Count Zadowa Gets a Shock
Hoxton is hardly in that part of London where large sums of money might be expected to change hands
Show the passage
The second and third floors were apparently occupied by his staff, which seemed unduly large considering the locality and quality of his business.
Hoxton is hardly in that part of London where large sums of money might be expected to change hands
, and yet there was no doubt that Mr. William Atkinson’s staff was both large and busy.
V: In Which Charles Latter, M.P., Goes Mad
The hope that had once been theirs of work and plenty was dead; there was nothing for them to do—they were just units in the vast army of unemployed.
Show the passage
A few women here and there mingled with them, but there was no laughing or jesting—only the sullenness of lost hope.
The hope that had once been theirs of work and plenty was dead; there was nothing for them to do—they were just units in the vast army of unemployed.
Occasionally a man better dressed and more prosperous than the others would detach himself from one group and go to another, where he would hold forth long and earnestly. And his listeners would nod their heads vigorously or laugh sheepishly as he passed on.
Charles Latter was unmoral rather than immoral: he was a constitutional coward with a strong liking for underhand intrigue, and he was utterly and entirely selfish.
Show the passage
No thought of the abominable crime he had planned only that afternoon disturbed his equanimity; as has been said, he was not a pleasant specimen of humanity.
Charles Latter was unmoral rather than immoral: he was a constitutional coward with a strong liking for underhand intrigue, and he was utterly and entirely selfish.
In his way he was ambitious: he wanted power, but, though in many respects he was distinctly able, he lacked that essential factor—the ability to work for it. He hated work: he wanted easy results. And to obtain lasting results is not easy, as Mr.
And a spiteful coward is a nasty thing.
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It is a realization which comes to many men, and it takes them different ways. Some become resigned—some make new and even more futile efforts: some see the humour of it, and some don’t. Mr. Latter didn’t: he became spiteful.
And a spiteful coward is a nasty thing.
It was just about that time that he met Count Zadowa. It was at dinner at a friend’s house, and after the ladies had left he found himself sitting next to the hunchback with the strange, piercing eyes.
We believe in making the punishment fit the crime.
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“
We believe in making the punishment fit the crime.
This afternoon you planned to destroy the livelihood of several thousand men with explosive, simply that you might make money.
“Poetic justice,” he murmured. “And it saves a lot of trouble.”
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He picked up the burnt-out fuse and the block of wood to which it had been attached. Then he undid the ropes that bound the other man, removed the gag and put him back into bed. And after a while he nodded thoughtfully.
“Poetic justice,” he murmured. “And it saves a lot of trouble.”
Then, after one searching look round the room, he turned out the light and stepped quietly into the passage.
VI: In Which an Effusion Is Sent to the Newspapers
“After profound experience, old lad,” he remarked, coming to anchor by the bar, “I have come to the conclusion that there is only one thing in this world better than having a cocktail at twelve o’clock.”
Show the passage
He gently propelled the inspector through the doors of the celebrated club, still babbling cheerfully.
“After profound experience, old lad,” he remarked, coming to anchor by the bar, “I have come to the conclusion that there is only one thing in this world better than having a cocktail at twelve o’clock.”
“What’s that?” said McIver perfunctorily.
“Having two,” answered Drummond triumphantly.
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“What’s that?” said McIver perfunctorily.
“Having two,” answered Drummond triumphantly.
The inspector smiled wanly. After his profound experience he had come to the conclusion that there could exist no bigger ass in the world than Drummond, but he followed a trade where at times it is necessary to suffer fools gladly.
IX: In Which There Is a Stormy Supper Party at the Ritz
“There are markets for anything in this world, if one takes the trouble to look for them.”
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“Don’t you believe it,” snapped the other.
“There are markets for anything in this world, if one takes the trouble to look for them.”
He was pacing up and down the room, and for a while she stood watching him in silence.
XV: In Which Hugh Drummond Arrives at Maybrick Hall
“Much water has flowed under the bridge, my angel child, since I last saw you, and I’ve flowed with it.”
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“But, my dear,” she said, with sudden anxiety in her voice, “you’re sopping wet.”
“Much water has flowed under the bridge, my angel child, since I last saw you, and I’ve flowed with it.”
He kissed her on the right side of her mouth, then on the left for symmetry, and finally in the middle for luck. Then he grew serious. “No time for hot air now, old thing;
“We’ll hurl floral decorations afterwards, my angel,” he remarked. “Just at the moment it seems a pity not to replace you with someone.”
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“You perfectly wonderful boy!” she whispered, and Hugh grinned.
“We’ll hurl floral decorations afterwards, my angel,” he remarked. “Just at the moment it seems a pity not to replace you with someone.”
He heaved the Italian on the bed, and snapped the steel bracelet on to his arm. Then he slipped the keys into his own pocket, and crossed to the window. The engine was still humming gently; the thudding noise was still going on;
XVI: In Which Things Happen at Maybrick Hall
“Roll up! roll up! roll up! one fox: one Pomeranian: one fowl. No charge for admittance. Visitors are requested not to touch the exhibits.”
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He bounded forward: gave one agonized roar as he hit the fence, and turning a complete somersault lay still. And as Phyllis stumbled blindly on, she suddenly heard Hugh’s cheerful voice from the darkness behind her, apparently addressing the world at large.
“Roll up! roll up! roll up! one fox: one Pomeranian: one fowl. No charge for admittance. Visitors are requested not to touch the exhibits.”
And then the loud and clear hoot of an owl thrice repeated. It was a message for her, she knew—not a senseless piece of bravado: a message to tell her that he was all right.
XVII: In Which a Murderer Is Murdered at Maybrick Hall
“I think it’s damned unsound,” remarked Drummond languidly.
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Do you think it’s sound up to date?”
“I think it’s damned unsound,” remarked Drummond languidly.
“If you propose to take me and endeavour to make my head impinge on a stone wall, someone is going to get a thick ear.
“Perfectly sound advice, old thing,” he remarked at length. “Straight from the stable. I really believe I’d almost lost my temper.”
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His eyes lingered for a moment on the dead Russian, they travelled thoughtfully on along the line of black figures. And gradually a smile began to appear on his face—a smile which broadened into a grin.
“Perfectly sound advice, old thing,” he remarked at length. “Straight from the stable. I really believe I’d almost lost my temper.”
XVIII: In Which the Home Secretary Is Taught the Foxtrot
Cancer is a small growth compared to the full body of the victim it kills: the cancer of one man’s tongue will kill a crowd of a thousand.
Show the passage
It’s not as difficult as it looks; it’s not such a big proposition as it seems.
Cancer is a small growth compared to the full body of the victim it kills: the cancer of one man’s tongue will kill a crowd of a thousand.
We’re a free country, Sir John; but the time is coming when freedom as we understood it in the past will have to cease. We can’t go on as the cesspit of Europe, sheltering microbes who infect us as soon as they are here.
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