The glimpse of the steamboat had for some reason filled those savages with unrestrained grief.

All the author’s familiar trademarks are here: […] shaggy-dog plotlines sprouting everywhere, like kudzu; […]

His code was the end justified the means with men who operated windward of the law. Since thieves followed no rules, he played the game accordingly, with a slight variation. He wrote his own rules as he went along.

Coordinate term: derealization