"I tell you it's no business of mine," he insisted evenly. "I couldn't do anything if I went. I've no status."
"Rotten system."
"Possibly. But systems can't be altered like that. Systems alter themselves, and they aren't in a hurry about it. This system isn't new, though it's new to you."
"You people in London don't know what work is."
"And what about your Clyde strikes?" G.J. retorted.
"Well, all that's settled now," said Concepcion rather uneasily, like a champion who foresees a fight but lacks confidence.
"Yes, but—" G.J. suddenly altered his tone to the persuasive: "You must know all about those strikes. What was the real cause? We don't understand them here."
"If you really want to know—nerves," she said earnestly and triumphantly.
"Nerves?"