holas," said Sally. "I am Mr. Nicholas' sister."

On a previous occasion when she had made this announcement, disastrous
results had ensued; but to-day it went well. It seemed to hit the
office-boy like a bullet. He started convulsively, opened his mouth, and
dropped the ruler. In the interval of stooping and recovering it he was
able to pull himself together. He had not been curious about Sally's
name. What he had wished was to have the name of the person for whom she
was asking repeated. He now perceived that he had had a bit of luck.
A wearying period of disappointment in the matter of keeping the
paper-weights circulating while balancing the ruler, had left him
peevish, and it had been his intention to work off his ill-humour on
the young visitor. The discovery that it was the boss's sister who was
taking up his time, suggested the advisability of a radical change of
tactics. He had stooped with a frown: he returned to the perpendicular
with a smile that was positively winning. It was like the sun suddenly
bursting through a London fog.

"Will you take a seat, lady?" he said, with polished courtesy even
unbending so far as to reach out and dust one with the sleeve of his
coat. He added that the morning was a fine one.

"Thank you," said Sally. "Will you tell him I'm here."

"Mr. Nicholas is out, miss," said the office-boy, with gentlemanly
regret. "He's back in New York, but he's gone out."

"I don't want Mr. Nicholas. I want Mr. Kemp."

"Mr. Kemp?"

"Yes, Mr. Kemp."

Sorrow at his inability to oblige shone from every hill-top on the boy's
face.

"Don't know of anyone of that name around here," he said,
apologetically.

"But surely..." Sally broke off suddenly. A grim foreboding had come to
her. "How long have you been here?" she asked.

"All day, ma'am," said the office-boy, with the manner of a Casablanca.

"I mean, how long have you been employed here?"

"Just over a month, miss."

"Hasn't Mr. Kemp been in the office all that time?"

"Name's new to me, lady. Does he look like anything? I meanter say,
what's he look like?"

"He has very red hair."

"Never seen him in here," said the office-boy. The truth shone coldly
on Sally. She blamed herself for ever having gone away, and told herself
that she might have known what would happen. Left to his own resources,
the unhappy Ginger had once more made a hash of it. And this hash must
have been a more notable and outstanding hash than any of his pr