h, here
comes lunch--stop and have some with me--bring another plate, waiter."

Reginald felt too bewildered to know what to think or say. He a
secretary of a company with L150 a year! It was nearly intoxicating.
And for the post spontaneously offered to him in the almost flattering
way it had been--this was more gratifying still. In his wildest dreams
just now he never pictured himself sitting down as secretary to the
Select Agency Corporation to lunch with one of its leading directors!

Mr Medlock said no more about "business", but made himself generally
agreeable, asking Reginald about his father and the old days, inquiring
as to his mother and brother, and all about his friends and
acquaintances in London.

Reginald felt he could talk freely to this friend, and he did so. He
confided to him all about Mr Durfy's tyranny, about his brother's work
at the _Rocket_, and even went so far as to drop out a hint in young
Gedge's favour. He told him all about Wilderham and his schoolfellows
there, about the books he liked, about the way he spent his evenings,
about Dull Street--in fact, he felt as if he had known Mr Medlock for
years and could talk to him accordingly.

"I declare," said that gentleman, pulling out his watch, after this
pleasant talk had been going on a long time, "it's five minutes past
two. I'm afraid you'll be late."

Reginald started up.

"So I shall, I'd no idea it was so late. I'm afraid I had better go,
sir."

"Well, write me a letter to Liverpool to-morrow, or Wednesday at the
latest, as we must fill up the place soon. Think it well over. Good-
bye, my man. I hope I shall see you again before long. By the way, of
course, you won't talk about all this out of doors."

"Oh, no," said Reginald, "I haven't even mentioned it yet at home."

Mr Medlock laughed.

"Well, if you come to Liverpool you'll have to tell them something about
it. See, here's a list of our directors, your mother may recognise some
of the names. But beyond your mother and brother don't talk about it
yet, as the Corporation is only just starting."

Reginald heartily concurred in this caution, and promised to act on it,
and then after a friendly farewell hastened back to the _Rocket_ office.
The clock pointed nearly a quarter past two when he entered.

He was not the sort of fellow to slink in when no one was looking. In
fact, he had such a detestation of that sort of thing that he went to
the other extreme, an