Blake's heavily facetious retort.

Copeland and the Commissioner looked at each other, for one fraction of
a second.

"You know what _my_ feeling is," resumed the latter, "on this Binhart
case."

"I know what my feeling is," declared Blake.

"What?"

"That the right method would 've got him six months ago, without all
this monkey work!"

"Then why not end the monkey work, as you call it?"

"How?"

"By doing what you say you can do!" was the Commissioner's retort.

"How 'm I going to hold down a chair and hunt a crook at the same time?"

"Then why hold down the chair? Let the chair take care of itself. It
could be arranged, you know."

Blake had the stage-juggler's satisfaction of seeing things fall into
his hands exactly as he had manoeuvered they should. His reluctance
was merely a dissimulation, a stage wait for heightened dramatic effect.