Thisoutburstratherastonishedme，asyoucanthink。”Well，”saidI，”otherpeopledon’tthinkquitesomuchofmeasyouseemtodo，Mr。Pinner。Ihadahardenoughfighttogetthisberth，andIamverygladtohaveit。””Pooh，man；youshouldsoaraboveit。Youarenotinyourtruesphere。Now，I’lltellyouhowitstandswithme。WhatIhavetoofferislittleenoughwhenmeasuredbyyourability，butwhencomparedwithMawson’s，it’slighttodark。Letmesee。WhendoyougotoMawson’s?””OnMonday。””Ha，ha！IthinkIwouldriskalittlesportingflutterthatyoudon’tgothereatall。””NotgotoMawson’s?””No，sir。BythatdayyouwillbethebusinessmanageroftheFranco-MidlandHardwareCompany，Limited，withahundredandthirty-fourbranchesinthetownsandvillagesofFrance，notcountingoneinBrusselsandoneinSanRemo。”
Thistookmybreathaway。”Ineverheardofit，”saidI。”Verylikelynot。Ithasbeenkeptveryquiet，forthecapitalwasallprivatelysubscribed，andit’stoogoodathingtoletthepublicinto。Mybrother，HarryPinner，ispromoter，andjoinstheboardafterallotmentasmanagingdirector。HeknewIwasintheswimdownhere，andaskedmetopickupagoodmancheap。Ayoung，pushingmanwithplentyofsnapabouthim。Parkerspokeofyou，andthatbroughtmeheretonight。Wecanonlyofferyouabeggarlyfivehundredtostartwith。””Fivehundredayear！”Ishouted。”Onlythatatthebeginning；butyouaretohaveanoverridingcommissionofonepercentonallbusinessdonebyyouragents，andyoumaytakemywordforitthatthiswillcometomorethanyoursalary。””ButIknownothingabouthardware。””Tut，myboy；youknowaboutfigures。”
Myheadbuzzed，andIcouldhardlysitstillinmychair。Butsuddenlyalittlechillofdoubtcameuponme。”Imustbefrankwithyou，”saidI。”Mawsononlygivesmetwohundred，butMawsonissafe。Now，really，Iknowsolittleaboutyourcompanythat——””Ah，smart，smart！”hecried，inakindofecstasyofdelight。”Youaretheverymanforus。Youarenottobetalkedover，andquiteright，too。Now，here’sanoteforahundredpounds，andifyouthinkthatwecandobusinessyoumayjustslipitintoyourpocketasanadvanceuponyoursalary。””Thatisveryhandsome，”saidI。”WhenshouldItakeovermynewduties?””BeinBirminghamto-morrowatone，”saidhe。”Ihaveanoteinmypocketherewhichyouwilltaketomybrother。Youwillfindhimat126bCorporationStreet，wherethetemporaryofficesofthecompanyaresituated。Ofcoursehemustconfirmyourengagement，butbetweenourselvesitwillbeallright。””Really，Ihardlyknowhowtoexpressmygratitude，Mr。Pinner，”saidI。”Notatall，myboy。Youhaveonlygotyourdesserts。
Thereareoneortwosmallthings——mereformalities——whichImustarrangewithyou。Youhaveabitofpaperbesideyouthere。Kindlywriteuponit’IamperfectlywillingtoactasbusinessmanagertotheFranco-MidlandHardwareCompany，Limited，ataminimumsalaryofL500。”
Ididasheasked，andheputthepaperinhispocket。”Thereisoneotherdetail，”saidhe。”WhatdoyouintendtodoaboutMawson’s?”
IhadforgottenallaboutMawson’sinmyjoy。”I’llwriteandresign，”saidI。”PreciselywhatIdon’twantyoutodo。IhadarowoveryouwithMawson’smanager。Ihadgoneuptoaskhimaboutyou，andhewasveryoffensive；accusedmeofcoaxingyouawayfromtheserviceofthefirm，andthatsortofthing。AtlastIfairlylostmytemper。
’Ifyouwantgoodmenyoushouldpaythemagoodprice，’saidI。”’Hewouldratherhaveoursmallpricethanyourbigone，’saidhe。”’I’lllayyouafiver，’saidI，’thatwhenhehasmyofferyou’llneversomuchashearfromhimagain。’”’Done！’saidhe。’Wepickedhimoutofthegutter，andhewon’tleaveussoeasily。’Thosewerehisverywords。””Theimpudentscoundrel！”Icried。”I’veneversomuchasseenhiminmylife。WhyshouldIconsiderhiminanyway?IshallcertainlynotwriteifyouwouldratherIdidn’t。””Good！That’sapromise，”saidhe，risingfromhischair。”Well，I’mdelightedtohavegotsogoodamanformybrother。Here’syouradvanceofahundredpounds，andhereistheletter。Makeanotoftheaddress，126bCorporationStreet，andrememberthatoneo’clockto-morrowisyourappointment。
Good-night；andmayyouhaveallthefortunethatyoudeserve！”
That’sjustaboutallthatpassedbetweenus，asnearasIcanremember。Youcanimagine，Dr。Watson，howpleasedIwasatsuchanextraordinarybitofgoodfortune。Isatuphalfthenighthuggingmyselfoverit，andnextdayIwasofftoBirminghaminatrainthatwouldtakemeinplentytimeformyappointment。
ItookmythingstoahotelinNewStreet，andthenI
mademywaytotheaddresswhichhadbeengivenme。
Itwasaquarterofanhourbeforemytime，butI
thoughtthatwouldmakenodifference。126bwasapassagebetweentwolargeshops，whichledtoawindingstonestair，fromwhichthereweremanyflats，letasofficestocompaniesorprofessionalmen。Thenamesoftheoccupantswerepaintedatthebottomonthewall，buttherewasnosuchnameastheFranco-MidlandHardwareCompany，Limited。Istoodforafewminuteswithmyheartinmyboots，wonderingwhetherthewholethingwasanelaboratehoaxornot，whenupcameamanandaddressedme。HewasverylikethechapIhadseenthenightbefore，thesamefigureandvoice，buthewascleanshavenandhishairwaslighter。”AreyouMr。HallPycroft?”heasked。”Yes，”saidI。”Oh！Iwasexpectingyou，butyouareatriflebeforeyourtime。Ihadanotefrommybrotherthismorninginwhichhesangyourpraisesveryloudly。””Iwasjustlookingfortheofficeswhenyoucame。””Wehavenotgotournameupyet，forweonlysecuredthesetemporarypremiseslastweek。Comeupwithme，andwewilltalkthematterover。”
Ifollowedhimtothetopofaveryloftystair，andthere，rightundertheslates，wereacoupleofempty，dustylittlerooms，uncarpetedanduncurtained，intowhichheledme。Ihadthoughtofagreatofficewithshiningtablesandrowsofclerks，suchasIwasusedto，andIdaresayIstaredratherstraightatthetwodealchairsandonelittletable，which，withaledgerandawastepaperbasket，madeupthewholefurniture。”Don’tbedisheartened，Mr。Pycroft，”saidmynewacquaintance，seeingthelengthofmyface。”Romewasnotbuiltinaday，andwehavelotsofmoneyatourbacks，thoughwedon’tcutmuchdashyetinoffices。
Praysitdown，andletmehaveyourletter。”
Igaveittohim，andherreaditoververycarefully。”YouseemtohavemadeavastimpressionuponmybrotherArthur，”saidhe；”andIknowthatheisaprettyshrewdjudge。HewswearsbyLondon，youknow；
andIbyBirmingham；butthistimeIshallfollowhisadvice。Prayconsideryourselfdefinitelyengaged。””Whataremyduties?”Iasked。”YouwilleventuallymanagethegreatdepotinParis，whichwillpourafloodofEnglishcrockeryintotheshopsofahundredandthirty-fouragentsinFrance。
Thepurchasewillbecompletedinaweek，andmeanwhileyouwillremaininBirminghamandmakeyourselfuseful。””How?”
Foranswer，hetookabigredbookoutofadrawer。”ThisisadirectoryofParis，”saidhe，”withthetradesafterthenamesofthepeople。Iwantyoutotakeithomewithyou，andtomarkoffalthehardwaresellers，withtheiraddresses。Itwouldbeofthegreatestusetometohavethem。””Surelythereareclassifiedlists?”Isuggested。”Notreliableones。Theirsystemisdifferentfromours。Stickatit，andletmehavethelistsbyMonday，attwelve。Good-day，Mr。Pycroft。Ifyoucontinuetoshowzealandintelligenceyouwillfindthecompanyagoodmaster。”
Iwentbacktothehotelwiththebigbookundermyarm，andwithveryconflictingfeelingsinmybreast。
Ontheonehand，Iwasdefinitelyengagedandhadahundredpoundsinmypocket；ontheother，thelookoftheoffices，theabsenceofnameonthewall，andotherofthepointswhichwouldstrikeabusinessmanhadleftabadimpressionastothepositionofmyemployers。However，comewhatmight，Ihadmymoney，soIsettleddowntomytask。AllSundayIwaskepthardatwork，andyetbyMondayIhadonlygotasfarasH。Iwentroundtomyemployer，foundhiminthesamedismantledkindofroom，andwastoldtokeepatituntilWednesday，andthencomeagain。OnWednesdayitwasstillunfinished，soIhammeredawayuntilFriday——thatis，yesterday。ThenIbroughtitroundtoMr。HarryPinner。