Hotel Quotes
"If he had had his way, Peter McDermott thought, he would have fired the chief house detective long ago."
"Fifteen things break loose at once, and nobody can find him."
"Christine Francis had left her own smaller office in the St. Gregory Hotel executive suite a few minutes earlier."
"I tried to reorganize our tame detective force once, and my ears were properly pinned back."
"You’re right. I tried to reorganize our tame detective force once, and my ears were properly pinned back."
"As personal assistant to Warren Trent, Christine was privy to the hotel’s inner secrets as well as its day-to-day affairs."
"For three weeks the city had sweltered in heat and humidity, producing tensions all around."
"The rain would be welcome, Christine thought."
"If I canna’ shut down part of the air conditioning soon, I willna’ be responsible for my bearings."
And if he doesn’t?" "Then I expect we shall be seeing a lot more of Mr. Curtis O’Keefe.
"It seemed likely that he might soon have to search for other employment."
"In the end that’s exactly what happened."
Keep your mind on my omelet," Christine said. "It’s ready now.
Perhaps it is," Christine answered. "It was my father’s.
"I’m glad you told me. Otherwise I might never have known."
"You can’t possibly think when you’re parading like a stallion at Ascot."
"When you were born with a character stronger than those around you, there was no escaping."
"But he wasn’t going to give me anything at first. Said he’d pay his bill when it was due, and didn’t seem interested when I told him we’d allow some extra time if he needed it."
"In the way we’ve been talking about, it certainly isn’t. The law’s quite clear on that and has been for a long time."
"This is good of you to come ’n see me, miss."
"If you try that, you might as well walk over to headquarters right now an’ give up."
"You’re misquoting me, but I won’t complain."
"Whatever is logical between them could happen if he chose to make it."
"Most but not all. Why should everyone be as docile?"
"You might have something there," Ogilvie conceded.
"Then he said I needed some clothes for college—he was right—and insisted on lending me two hundred dollars."
"It’s a dual symbol. The apartment shows woman’s independence, but losing the key proves she’s still feminine."
"Her lips formed eager, incoherent sounds and discretion fled, the reservations of a moment earlier dissolved."
"But where would you put it—in the men’s washroom?"
"The ease of it all, he told himself, was a good omen."
"Train travelers were obviously more conservative than air passengers and perhaps for that reason took greater care with hotel keys."
"The key turned. The door opened noiselessly."
"The light was sufficient to see and avoid obstacles but, with luck, not to be observed."
"His gloved fingers encountered a small pile of coins. Forget it!—pocketing loose change meant noise."
"Keycase’s mind was working quickly now, icily, as it always had."
"It was unlikely the police would take time out from that when, in the hotel, no crime had actually been committed."
"The very first key he had obtained had failed him."
"It was the man named Stanley, from Iowa, who had fallen for the oldest sucker routine on Bourbon Street."
"Long before then, Keycase cached his gains."
"The superb hauteur, her hallmark, was as evident as always."
"The only way to hit these people is where they feel it most—financially."
"It was like a dreaded nightmare come to reality."
"Sometimes when a lot of attention is given to something, after a day or two with nothing happening, people lose interest."
"You paid the wages to keep out the unions, and the charity made you feel great."
"The Journeymen’s president said, 'There won’t be a vote.'"
"It's hard for one person to be everywhere. All of us who have departments know that."
"It’s possible there may be large changes around here generally. Quite soon."
"We never know how much we share with someone until the sharing ends."
"Sometimes you think you’ve found the key piece, and you haven’t. When you do, though, all of a sudden you can see a whole lot clearer, including how other things fit in around."
"There’s always one—to this, and most other problems you can name."
"The best temperature—for kitchens and the housewives too."
"A family center, a place of talk and sharing."
"I know I could make you love me, in time."
"You’re lucky this time that the whistle blew before a deal was closed. But this is a warning: don’t ever try that game again!"
"In God’s name, I’ve not the least idea what this is about."
"No idea, when there’d been a race riot in your goddamned hotel!"
"What occurred here yesterday is not unique. It’s happened to Southern hotels before; it will happen again."
"It’s not the principle you care about, then. You don’t mind what we do as long as it isn’t noticed."
"What I care about is my business. So is where I invest union funds."
"If you believe that, you’re an even bigger fool than I thought."
"Professional people like us, who are by nature middle-of-the-roaders, have dilly-dallied too long on issues of human rights."
"It’s happened to Southern hotels before; it will happen again. A day or two afterward, attention moves on to something else."
"I’d like to be clear about this. Am I to understand that despite your accountants’ inspection of our affairs last night, our arrangement of yesterday no longer stands?"
"Not for something that's already happened. If it happened."
"Our people have done some figuring since I phoned them first. They reckon your man Ogilvie may be trying to get the car out of the state, maybe to some place north."
"A twelve-state alarm is going out right now."
"If we get to the car that killed the woman and child, we'll prove it beyond the shadow of a doubt."
"What I’d like to do is fire you on the spot. Because you’ve been here so long, I intend to place the whole thing before Mr. Trent."
"You mean because they’ve identified you as a pimp?"
"Get out before I break your dirty little neck."
"I was curious to know how high you thought my price came."
"Lord, I want to be in that number, When the Saints go marching in."
"You’re not alone. There’ve been times I haven’t measured up to everything I believe."
"When you believe in somebody, don’t be in a rush to change your mind."
"We’re early people here. Mr. Preyscott, when he’s home, doesn’t like late starting."
"I reckon he taught me something: When you believe in somebody, don’t be in a rush to change your mind."
"That’s right. There’s a few other things now, besides."
"I’ve been a teacher all my life, with plenty to show for it: Good people I’ve brought on—Jim Nicholas for one, and others, procedures carrying my name, books I’ve written that are standard texts."
"I guess they’ll make out. It sounds as if they have already."
"All the same, a little frosting does no harm. A fellow even gets to like it."
"You didn’t do it, McDermott, when you had the chance. You were too worried about this hotel, your job."
"Just as a final grain of sand will tip a scale, so, at this moment, the slightest further twisting of the piston would isolate the motor switch entirely."
"At ten past ten on Friday morning, number four elevator was—in fact, and figuratively—hanging by a thread."
"Mr. Dempster appeared to be a man accustomed to exercise authority."
"For the first time since his arrival, the man from Montreal smiled."
"Despite Mr. Wells’ considerable wealth, he has remained a man of very simple tastes."
"Once in a while, you have to weigh what you want against what you believe in."
"What was said a moment ago is unfortunately true. A delegate to a convention in this hotel, with a confirmed reservation, was refused accommodation. He was a dentist—I understand, a distinguished one—and incidentally a Negro."
"If I can, I intend to get to the police before they come to me."
"If he wants his bags, let him take them. Anyone who’s been through that’s entitled."
"We’re in a war, you and me—on opposite sides. It won’t be finished in our time, either."