"Would be covered with shame, it is true, but not fatally. For the peace of his own soul, he would leave the site in as dignified a manner as possible."
"With or without boodle?"
"Naturally without. One apprehended in the act is obliged to abandon his loot. That is only common politeness."
"I see. And if the burglar (not so called) remains unapprehended? How is the loss of the goods or property recorded?"
"It goes into the coefficient of general diminution of merchandise, which is to say shrinkage, wastage or loss. At certain times and places this coefficient becomes alarmingly large. Then it is necessary to use extraordinary care; and in extreme cases a thrice-removed burglar may become so ashamed of himself that he will die."
"That he will die of shame? Is that a euphemism?"
"Let us say that it is a euphemism of a euphemism."
"Thrice-removed, I imagine. And what of other crimes?"
Here OMTLM rattled his glottis in a nervous manner, and Marlow hurriedly transferred his deferential ball to the other hand, having nearly forgotten it.