He had foreseen Stevie distracted and lost--sought for--found in some police station or provincial workhouse in the end.

He had foreseen Stevie arrested, and was not afraid, because Mr Verloc had a great opinion of Stevie's loyalty, which had been carefully indoctrinated with the necessity of silence in the course of many walks.
Like a peripatetic philosopher, Mr Verloc, strolling along the streets of London, had modified Stevie's view of the police by conversations full of subtle reasonings.

Never had a sage a more attentive and admiring disciple.

The submission and worship were so apparent that Mr Verloc had come to feel something like a liking for the boy.

In any case, he had not foreseen the swift bringing home of his connection.