Why should he express such surprise, I wondered, at my doing just what
he was doing?

"What brings you here at this hour?" he demanded, dropping for a moment
the coaxing tone with which I had become so familiar the last day or
two.

"What brings you here, for the matter of that?" I retorted.

If he thought I was going to clear out to please him, he was mistaken.

"Don't address me like that," he replied, with as great a tone of
authority as he could assume. "I have a right to be here. You have
none."

"Until I am told so by some one better than yourself I sha'n't believe
it," I replied.

I was losing my temper fast. Masham's letter burned in my pocket, and
the sight of this fellow giving himself airs to me was as much as I
could stand.

Fortunately for us both, however, he did not prolong the discussion, but
went to his desk.

It was evident, despite his assumed displeasure, he was very much put
out about something. That something, I could not help thinking, must be
my presence. He fidgeted about uneasily, looking now at the clock, now
at me, now opening his desk, now shutting it, now scribbling on the
paper before him, now tearing it up.

All this I saw as I tried to proceed steadily with my work. At last he
brought me an envelope he had just addressed, and said in a rather more
persuasive manner than he had yet assumed--

"Batchelor, would you kindly take this note round to Hodge and
Company's? It is very important; they should have had it yesterday."

"Hodge's are never open till ten," I said.

"Oh yes, indeed they are. At least they expect this letter by nine
o'clock. It's a bill of lading for their goods."

"If that's so," replied I, "the mail went out yesterday--you know that--
and there's not another till Monday."

"Oh, but there's a letter with it that has to be attended to
immediately."

"It's not been copied," said I, who had charge of the letter-book, and
was responsible for copying everything that went out.

"I've kept a copy. I'll see to that. It's only to ask them to call
round," he said, with evident confusion.

I did not believe a word he said. And more than that, I strongly
suspected all this was a device to get me out of the office--and that
was what I had no intention of submitting to.

"If it's to ask them to call round," I said, "it will do when the
commissionaire comes at half-past nine."

"But I tell you it must be there at _nine_," he exclaimed.

"Then," sa