Having introduced the rather puzzling suggestiong that Verloc’s shady business is connected to supporting the status quo, Conrad here confirms it.

Suggestive, if only subliminally, of No. 10 Downing, the seat of British government.

A third suggestion of crime and conspiracy; note that, like Verloc, the police officer is described as stoical and without emotion.

Another suggestion of crime in an otherwise-innocuous environment.

The cab is stopped, but “arrested” is a telling word choice, one that deepens the atmosphere of intrigue and conspiracy.

We might have expected Verloc to be engaged in “politics” in a very grubby sense, far removed from the halls of power. So it is a bit jarring to find out that he is meeting with — or surveilling? or attacking? — an embassy.

This is an important hint, since Verloc is in fact a government agent working in deep cover.

Here we find Conrad employing the free indirect to give us a glance inside Verloc’s mind.

A curious turn, since the reader has been prompted up until now to think of Verloc as engaged in some nefarious business related to political radicalism; here, he seems to voice rabidly right-wing political views.

We will eventually discover (if you don’t know, now you know) that Verloc is a government agent, hired to keep tabs on anarchist radicals, and that the views he expresses here are more or less his true beliefs.

The ethereal, translucent light that bathes Mr. Verloc is ironic, since his purpose is dark, secretive, and violent.

The “old gold”, meanwhile, introduces the theme of London’s opulence and what it signifies for Verloc.

As he describes a relatively peaceful and serene tableau, Conrad carefully introduces a dissonant note — the sun “looked bloodshot” — and a slight hint of violence (blood/shot).