He listened with an impenetrable face, and walked out of the room with measured steps.
Whatever might have been the plans of the Assistant Commissioner they had nothing to do with that desk work, which was the bane of his existence because of its confined nature and apparent lack of reality.

It could not have had, or else the general air of alacrity that came upon the Assistant Commissioner would have been inexplicable.

As soon as he was left alone he looked for his hat impulsively, and put it on his head.
Having done that, he sat down again to reconsider the whole matter.

But as his mind was already made up, this did not take long.

And before Chief Inspector Heat had gone very far on the way home, he also left the building..