One<br >HE WAS RESTLESS， CUriously remote. He glanced at his wrist<br >watch during the small formalities of greeting. Occasionally<br >he brushed his fingers along the side of his head where the<br >sandy hair was thinning. He gave an impression of a man<br >already late for a plane. He was courteous， as always， but， to<br >me， his impatience was especially marked， for Steve s normal<br >pace under pressure was so unhurried that his friends in Wash-<br >ington often commented enviously on the trait.<br > We were three for lunch in the long， cool room， Stephen<br >Greet， Miguel Loomis， and I. Greer motioned me to the oak<br >chair on his left. That put M<br >oak table， an unobtrusive bit<br >young Miguel.<br >guel on Greer s right at the heavy<br >of protocol that appeared to elude<br > Although I had known Stephen Greet fairly well for some<br >years， this was the first time that I had been invited to lunch in<br >the law firm s private dining room in the Ring Building. The<br >conditioned air provided a haven from Washington s late Au-<br >gust heat， which stewed on the sidewalks and soft macadam of<br >Connecticut Avenue seven stories below.<br > The dining room of Greer， Hilstratter， Tomlin & DeLuca<br >was decorated to the masculine taste， the furniture plain， dark<br >oak with a waxed finish， the walls papered with an olive fab-<br >ric on which hung a line of old prints. Wildlife scenes<br >predominated， mallards beating spray in startled ascent from a<br >reedy inlet， a moose standing imperiously between two tall<br >pines， a tarpon thrashing on its tail as it sought to throw the<br >hook. Clients could know that the firm s partners were patient，<br >solid men who understood the link between man and nature<br >and who sensed the rhythm of violence beneath the deceptive<br >tranquillity of forest， lake， meadow， and sea.<br > The table s place settings on green mats included old Eng-<br >lish silver and china by a Danish designer. A steward in white<br >coat busied himself in the adjoining galley as we dipped<br >spoons into the jellied consomme.<br > "It s too bland，" protested Greer. He showered pepper and<br >salt over the shivering red mound.<br > 1<br ><br >