erk's resentment soon melted away.

A little incident occurred which strengthened this kindly feeling.
It chanced that some few days after Tom's first appearance in the office
several of the clerks, who had not yet quite gauged what manner of man
this young gentleman might be, took advantage of the absence of the
Girdlestones to take a rise out of the manager. One of them, a great
rawboned Scotchman, named McCalister, after one or two minor exhibitions
of wit concluded by dropping a heavy ruler over the partition of the old
man's desk in such a way that it crashed down upon his head as he sat
stooping over his writing. Tom, who had been watching the proceedings
with a baleful eye, sprang off his stool and made across the office at
the offender. McCalister seemed inclined for a moment to brazen it out,
but there was a dangerous sling about Tom's shoulders and a flush of
honest indignation upon his face. "I didn't mean to hurt him," said the
Scotchman. "Don't hit him, sir!" cried the little manager. "Beg his
pardon," said Tom between his teeth. McCalister stammered out some lame
apology, and the matter was ended. It revealed the new partner,
however, in an entirely novel light to the inmates of the
counting-house. That under such circumstances a complaint should be
carried to the senior was only natural, but that the junior should
actually take the matter into his own hands and execute lynch law then
and there was altogether a new phenomenon. From that day Tom acquired a
great ascendancy in the office, and Gilray became his devoted slave.
This friendship with the old clerk proved to be very useful, for by
means of his shrewd hints and patient teaching the new comer gained a
grasp of the business which he could not have attained by any other
method.

Girdlestone called him into the office one day and congratulated him
upon the progress which he was making. "My dear young man," he said to
him in his patriarchal way, "I am delighted to hear of the way in which
you identify yourself with the interests of the firm. If at first you
find work allotted to you which may appear to you to be rather menial,
you must understand that that is simply due to our desire that you
should master the whole business from its very foundations."

"There is nothing I desire better," said Tom.

"In addition to the routine of office work, and the superintendence of
the clerks, I should wish you to have a thorough grasp of all the
det