," said his father.

Archie scratched his head in doubt.

"Your honour," Sir Archibald repeated, smiling.

"The first of September," Archie laughed. "I shan't forget that
date."

In the end he had good cause to remember it.

* * * * *

Before Archie left the office Sir Archibald led him to the broad
window behind the desk. Archie was used to this. It was his father's
habit. The thing was not done in a spirit of boasting, as the boy was
very well aware. Nor was it an attempt to impress the boy with a sense
of his own importance and future wealth in the world. It was rather a
well-considered and consistent effort to give him a sense of the
reality and gravity of the obligations that would some day be his.
From the broad window Archie looked out once more upon the various
activities of his father's great business. There were schooners
fitting out for the fishing cruise to the Labrador; there were traders
taking in stores for the voyage to the Straits of Belle Isle, to the
South Coast, to the French Shore; there were fore-and-afters outbound
to the Grand Banks and waiting for a favourable wind; there were
coastwise vessels, loading flour and pork for the outport merchants;
there were barques awaiting more favourable weather in which to load
salt-cod for the West Indies and Spain.

All this never failed to oppress Archie a little as viewed from the
broad window of his father's office.

"Look!" said Sir Archibald, moving a hand to include the shipping and
storehouses.

Archie gazed into the rainy day.

"What do you see?" his father asked, in a way half bantering, half
grave.

"Your ships and wharves, sir."

"Some day," said Sir Archibald, "they will be yours."

"I wish you wouldn't say that, dad--at least, not just in that way,"
said Archie, turning away from the window. "It sort of frightens me."

Sir Archibald laughed and clapped him on the back. "You know what I
mean," said he.

"You mean that the firm has a name," said Archie. "You mean that the
name must never be disgraced. I know what you mean."

Sir Archibald nodded.

"I hope," said Archie, the suspicion of a quaver in his voice and a
tremble in his lower lip, "that I'll never disgrace it."

"Nor the name of the little firm that goes into business this day,"
said Sir Archibald.

Archie's solemn face broke into a smile of amusement and surprise.
"Why, dad," said he, "it hasn't got a name."

"Armstrong