"No! That would ruin everything! New York would be destroyed!!"
I clucked impatiently. "Please, Mr. Rumplestein, or O'Grady, or whatever
your name is. If you cannot give me an honest answer, I shall be forced
to call the authorities. This nonsense about--"
He held up his hand and emitted a huge sigh. "Very well," he said, "I
will tell you what this is all about because my usefulness may come to
an end abruptly and you may have to carry on. Listen carefully." I
waited with mounting impatience.
"New York," he said after a brief pause, "is a huge, sprawling
metropolis that breeds within itself the seeds of its own destruction.
Transportation." I raised an eyebrow. "At best," he went on, "the
traffic in Manhattan does not flow--it limps. Let one traffic light fail
and vehicles are backed up for several blocks. True?"