There, on a bare bench in a barren ante-room, Grim left me to cool my heels.

He knocked, and entered a door marked "private." It was fully half an hour before the door opened again and I was beckoned in.

Grim was alone in the room with the Administrator, a rather small, lean, rigidly set up man, with merry fire in his eye, and an instantly obvious gift for being obeyed.

He sat at an enormous desk, but would have looked more at ease in a tent, or on horseback.

The three long rows of campaign ribbons looked incongruous beside the bunch of flowers that somebody had crammed into a Damascus vase on the desk, with the estimable military notion of making the utmost use of space.
Sir Louis was certainly in an excellent temper.