Chapter 16 of 19 · 3'41"
Harry rushes in with the news: "I've got The Strangler." Philip praises him, then calls Kristo and tells him exactly where the fighter is. To Harry's face he says, "nobody cuts in on Philip Nosseross," refuses the 200 pounds, and warns him he is a dead man.
❝ Monologue · 11 lines You're a Dead Man, Harry Fabian
Harry bursts in to tell Philip he has signed The Strangler and promises a huge return. Philip flatters him, then telephones Kristo and reveals that the fighter is at Fabian's gymnasium. When Harry realises he has been sold out, he argues that he played straight; Philip tells him not to make a scene and signs his death warrant.
The scene runs on a single cruel joke: Harry thinks he is delivering good news. He comes in glowing — "Beauty versus the beast" — and Philip plays along, saying, "You are a wonder," which sounds like praise and is really contempt. The moment Harry leaves the room, Philip becomes the man who decides everything: "nobody cuts in on Philip Nosseross." He does not take Harry's deal or the 200 pounds; he simply gives Kristo the address and lets someone else do the damage. Harry's plea is that he "played it straight," but Philip's answer is cold: "please don't make a scene." The verdict that follows, "you're a dead man, Harry Fabian," is not a threat but a fact, and Harry has walked into it himself.
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
“I'm saying that nobody... nobody cuts in on Philip Nosseross.”
The repetition turns a simple claim into a warning no one in the room can miss.
Informal
“But you're a dead man, Harry Fabian.”
It delivers a death sentence in a flat voice, which makes the threat far worse.
Informal
“You'll get 1,000 per cent on your money.”
One number makes an impossible promise sound like a sure thing.
Informal
“Now, just leave quietly, like the little gentleman you've always wanted to be.”
A nursery endearment used to throw a man out, courtesy sharpened into the cruelest possible insult.
Formal
You are a wonder. You did it. And now you can get rich. You've got Kristo stopped, you've got The Strangler. And Gregorius is on your side. It's a wonderful situation, because you've got it all. But you can't put the fight on, because you don't have the money and there isn't a man in all London who'll let you have a shilling. You've got it all. But you're a dead man, Harry Fabian. A dead man.
Up next · 17a grudge fightThe scene: The Strangler Breaks Nikolas's WristHarry has cut into his business by dealing directly with The Strangler. Philip passes the news to Kristo so that someone else will punish him.
The money is not his aim. He wants Harry removed, and he says so: he is giving him the sharp edge of the knife.
Philip accuses him of it, and Harry admits it. He says he was desperate and that Philip would not listen to him.
He says he and Kristo are old friends and that he feels it his duty to report The Strangler. Then he gives the address, telling Kristo to go at once to Fabian's gymnasium.
To show he is not finished. He tells Philip that Gregorius is on his side and wants Nikolas to fight The Strangler, so he still has something to bargain with.
