In London, the first edition hit the stands before the ink could settle.
PRIME MINISTER MEETS CHANCELLOR — HOPE FOR PEACE AS TALKS CONTINUE
Editorials began to write themselves.
In clubs and offices men said, "Good," the way people say it when they are relieved to have a sentence to repeat.
Churchill sat with three MPs in a side room off a corridor that always smelled of carpet dust.
The door was half shut.
"He'll bring back a paper," said a man with a face like a clenched fist. "They'll wave it at us like a talisman."
"He'll bring back the best he can," Churchill said. "That is not the same as what is needed."
The youngest of the three looked at his hands. "The country wants to believe him," he said.
"The country wants to sleep," Churchill said. "It is not a sin. But it is not a plan."
Duff Cooper came in, closed the door with his heel, and dropped a file on the table. "War Office notes," he said. "Quiet rail movements. Not as quiet as yesterday."
