interlocutor, smiling mockingly above the bristling bow of his necktie,
switched the conversation into French.

"You give yourself for an 'agent provocateur.' The proper business of an
'agent provocateur' is to provoke. As far as I can judge from your
record kept here, you have done nothing to earn your money for the last
three years."

"Nothing!" exclaimed Verloc, stirring not a limb, and not raising his
eyes, but with the note of sincere feeling in his tone. "I have several
times prevented what might have been--"

"There is a proverb in this country which says prevention is better than
cure," interrupted Mr Vladimir, throwing himself into the arm-chair. "It
is stupid in a general way. There is no end to prevention. But it is
characteristic. They dislike finality in this country. Don't you be too
English. And in this particular instance, don't be absurd. The evil is
already here. We don't want prevention--we want cure."

He paused, turned to the desk, and turning over some papers lying there,
spoke in a changed business-like tone, without looking at Mr Verloc.

"You know, of course, of the International Conference assembled in
Milan?"

Mr Verloc intimated hoarsely that he was in the habit of reading the
daily papers. To a further question his answer was that, of course, he
understood what he read. At this Mr Vladimir, smiling faintly at the
documents he was still scanning one after another, murmured "As long as
it is not written in Latin, I suppose."