one as he came in. 'You know, there was no need for you to wait: you
could 'ave left 'em 'ere and gone on to your job.'

He sat down at his desk and looked carelessly at the drawing that Owen
handed to him. It was on a sheet of paper about twenty-four by
eighteen inches. The design was drawn with pencil and one half of it
was coloured.

'That's for the ceiling,' said Owen. 'I hadn't time to colour all of
it.'

With an affectation of indifference, Rushton laid the drawing down and
took the other which Owen handed to him.

'This is for the large wall. The same design would be adapted for the
other walls; and this one shows the door and the panels under the
window.'

Rushton expressed no opinion about the merits of the drawings. He
examined them carelessly one after the other, and then, laying them
down, he inquired:

'How long would it take you to do this work--if we get the job?'

'About three weeks: say 150 hours. That is--the decorative work only.
Of course, the walls and ceiling would have to be painted first: they
will need three coats of white.'

Rushton scribbled a note on a piece of paper.

'Well,' he said, after a pause, 'you can leave these 'ere and I'll see
Mr Sweater about it and tell 'im what it will cost, and if he decides
to have it done I'll let you know.'

He put the drawings aside with the air of a man who has other matters
to attend to, and began to open one of the several letters that were on
his desk. He meant this as an intimation that the audience was at an
end and that he desired the 'hand' to retire from the presence. Owen
understood this, but he did not retire, because it was necessary to
mention one or two things which Rushton would have to allow for when
preparing the estimate.

'Of course I should want some help,' he said. 'I should need a man
occasionally, and the boy most of the time. Then there's the gold
leaf--say, fifteen books.'

'Don't you think it would be possible to use gold paint?'

'I'm afraid not.'

'Is there anything else?' inquired Rushton as he finished writing down
these items.

'I think that's all, except a few sheets of cartridge paper for
stencils and working drawings. The quantity of paint necessary for the
decorative work will be very small.'

As soon as Owen was gone, Rushton took up the designs and examined them
attentively.

'These are all right,' he muttered. 'Good enough for anywhere. If he
can paint anything like as well as this