“...What disturbed him was the discovery that in sensibly ordering his affairs he had got out of step, and not into step, with Life.”

“When he awakened again he could stand, and did. He doused his head in cold water and drank four glasses of water. The water made him sick and after that he began to shake with a chill. He went into the bedroom and lay down on the bare blood-stained mattress, but got up almost immediately to go stumbling and staggering in haste back to the bathroom, where he got down on hands and knees and searched the floor until he had found the rusty razor-blade. He sat on the floor and put the razor-blade into his vest-pocket. Putting it in, his fingers touched his lighter. He took the lighter out and looked at it. A cunning gleam came into his one open eye as he looked at the lighter. The gleam was not sane.”

“He felt like somebody had taken the lid off life and let him see the works.”

“It's tough, him getting it like that. Miles had his faults same as the rest of us, but I guess he must've had some good points too.”

“He said: "I'm going to send you over. The chances are you'll get off with life. That means you'll be out again in twenty years. You're an angel. I'll wait for you." He cleared his throat. "If they hang you I'll always remember you.”

“To get what he wanted, a man had to give other people what they wanted.”

“I distrust a man that says when. If he's got to be careful not to drink to much it's because he's not to be trusted when he does.”