And when Hamilton Beamish said "All wrong!" it meant "All wrong!" He was a man who thought clearly and judged boldly, without hedging or vacillation. He called a Ford a Ford.
"Wrong, sir?" faltered Mullett, when, realising that there had been no bomb-outrage after all, he was able to speak.
"Wrong. Inefficient. Too much waste motion. From the muscular exertion which you are using on that broom you are obtaining a bare sixty-three or sixty-four per cent of result-value. Correct this. Adjust your methods. Have you seen a policeman about here?"
"A policeman, sir?"
Hamilton Beamish clicked his tongue in annoyance. It was waste motion, but even efficiency experts have their feelings.
"A policeman. I said a policeman and I meant a policeman."
"Were you expecting one, sir?"
"I was and am."
Mullett cleared his throat.
"Would he be wanting anything, sir?" he asked a little nervously.