FROM DASHIELL HAMMETT'S THE MALTESE FALCON: When the last pocket had been turned out he returned to his own chair, rolled and lighted a cigarette, and began to examine his spoils. He examined them with grave unhurried thoroughness.
There's a quicker way to say this:
When the last pocket had been turned out he returned to his own chair, rolled and lighted a cigarette. He began to examine his spoils with grave unhurried thoroughness.
With apologies to Dashiell Hammett.
MORE MALTESE: He had put the coffee-pot on the stove when she came to the door, and was slicing a slender loaf of French bread.
I assume Hammett meant this: He had put the coffee-pot on the stove and was slicing a slender loaf of French bread when she came to the door.
I'm still reading The Maltese Falcon, and I just found the word excelsior. I looked it up: softwood shavings used for packing fragile goods or stuffing furniture.
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