Hilaire Belloc

“ He held firmly above it with one of his free hands the bottom left-hand corner of the cheque form, and he traced, Professor Higginson traced, he traced lightly and carefully with the pencil, he traced with cunning, with care, and with skill the "J"—and the "o"—and the "h"—and the "n," and the capital "B"—and the "r"—and the "a"—and the "s"—and all the rest of the business!
The Good Angels flew in despair to their own abode, leaving for the moment the luckless race of men. The Bad Ones, as I believe, crowded the room to suffocation ”

“ Melba and Jimmy looked at each other doubtfully.
"I cannot, will not do it," barked the wretched scientist, "if you stay here!"
"After all, Mr. Brassington, we had all this out last night——"
"Yes, and I wouldn't do it until you were gone, would I?" said Professor Higginson, scoring a point.
"After all, he can't do anything through that window, Melba, can he? Let 's come out and wait. But I warn you, sir," he added," turning to the fallen man, "we shall hear all that you do, and we shall stop immediately outside the door." ”

“ With a small fragment of the splintered thing he began very painfully sawing at a section of the rope that bound him. He might as well have tried to cut down a fifteen-year oak with a penknife. All things can be accomplished with labour at last, but the life of man is a flash. ”

“ Then they stood to recover their breath, still holding him tightly upon either side, while Jimmy as spokesman repeatedly assured him that they meant him no ill. "It 's nothing but a necessary precaution, Mr. Brassington, we do assure you," he puffed. "You see, the cheque must be cleared. Not that we doubt your honour for a moment! You 'll find all you want in there. You can untie yourself now that you 've cut the rope, you know, and there 's everything a man can possibly want. It 's a solemn matter of honour between us, Mr. Brassington, that we 'll let you out the moment the cheque 's cleared. ”