Max Carrados Mysteries

Parkinson, the unquenchable stickler for decorum, paused after receiving the general instructions for the day just long enough to create a sense of hesitation. Mr Carrados, merely concerned with an after-breakfast cigarette, divined the position with his usual unerring instinct.
Yes, Parkinson, he remarked encouragingly; is there anything going on?
A clumsily-folded newspaper enabled the punctilious attendant to salve his conscience as he returned slowly to the table. He shook out the printed sheets into a more orderly arrangement by way of covering the irregularity.
I understand, sir, he replied in the perfectly controlled respectful voice that accorded with his deliberate actions I understand that this mornings foreign intelligence is of a disquieting nature.
The blind mans hand went unfalteringly to an open copy of The Times lying by him and there a single deft finger touched off the headlines with easy certainty.
"On the Brink of War.""Threatened German Mobilization", he read aloud. "The Duty of Great Britain." Yes, I dont think that "disquieting" over-states the position.
No, sir. So I gathered from what I had already heard. That is why I thought it better to speak to you about a trifling incident that has come under my notice, sir.