The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Secret Agent, by Joseph Conrad

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Title: The Secret Agent
A Simple Tale

Author: Joseph Conrad

Release Date: December 25, 2008 [eBook #974]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SECRET AGENT***

Transcribed from the 1907 Methuen & Co edition by David Price, email
ccx074@pglaf.org

THE
SECRET AGENT
A SIMPLE TALE
BY
JOSEPH CONRAD

SECOND EDITION

METHUEN & CO.,
36 ESSEX STREET W C.
LONDON

_First Published_ . . . _September_ 1907

_Second Edition_ . . . _October_ 1907

TO
H. G. WELLS

THE CHRONICLER OF MR LEWISHAM'S LOVE
THE BIOGRAPHER OF KIPPS AND THE
HISTORIAN OF THE AGES TO COME

THIS SIMPLE TALE OF THE XIX CENTURY
IS AFFECTIONATELY OFFERED

CHAPTER I

Mr Verloc, going out in the morning, left his shop nominally in charge of
his brother-in-law. It could be done, because there was very little
business at any time, and practically none at all before the evening. Mr
Verloc cared but little about his ostensible business. And, moreover,
his wife was in charge of his brother-in-law.

The shop was small, and so was the house. It was one of those grimy
brick houses which existed in large quantities before the era of
reconstruction dawned upon London. The shop was a square box of a place,
with the front glazed in small panes. In the daytime the door remained
closed; in the evening it stood discreetly but suspiciously ajar.

The window contained photographs of more or less undressed dancing girls;
nondescript packages in wrappers like patent medicines; closed yellow
paper envelopes, very flimsy, and marked two-and-six i