By God!' he whispered, drawing his breath in sharply, 'it is all pure Rider Haggard and Conan Doyle. - John Buchan

Russia is mortally sick and therefore all evil is unchained, and the criminals have no one to check them. There is crime everywhere in the world, and the unfettered crime in Russia is so powerful that it stretches its hand to crime throughout the globe and there is a great mobilizing everywhere of wicked men. Once you boasted that law was international and that the police in one land worked with the police of all others. To-day that is true about criminals. After a war evil passions are loosed, and, since Russia is broken, in her they can make their headquarters...

Five reasonably intelligent men sat in a stupor of impotence, repeating wearily the essentials of a problem which they could not solve.

It's the Idea that wins every time — the Idea with brains and guts behind it.