Elleston Trevor

"Berlatsky noted these things because all his life he had noted things, like a sparrow picks at crumbs. You could miss a lot of chances by not using your eyes."

"Maria fetched the letters, half-running. She was the most willing girl they had ever had, and within three months she'd be speaking good English, and a month later she would leave, as they all did, be…"

"He felt her watching him, maybe wondering if he was some kind of nut. He'd been wondering about that himself, as a matter of fact, during the past hour, but very slowly he was beginning to think he mi…"

"He looked around at the peeling paint and the missing light-tubes and the juke-box with its 'Out of Order' notice stuck across the glass, and she knew what he was thinking: this was the kind of place …"

"Charlie saw her eyes were wet and he didn't know what to say because he wasn't used to thinking about people the way they really were, especially women: he only saw them as people who were going to be…"

"The only person who saw the car go into the ravine that night was Berlatsky."

"For forty-three years Berlatsky had made a point of keeping out of trouble and now there was this."