Appleyard raised his head, slowly twisted in his revolving chair,
and looked quietly at his employer. And Allerdyke, dropping into an
easy-chair by the fireplace, over which hung a fine steel engraving of
himself, flanked by photographs of the Bradford mills and the Bradford
warehouse, looked at his London manager, secretly admiring the shrewdness
and self-possession evidenced in the young man's face. Appleyard was
certainly no beauty; his outstanding features were sandy-coloured hair,
freckled cheeks, a snub nose, and a decidedly wide mouth; moreover, his
ears, unusually large, stood out from the sides of his head in very
prominent fashion, and gave a beholder the impression that they were
perpetually stretched to attention. But he was the owner of a well-shaped
forehead, a pair of steady and honest blue eyes, and a firmly cut square
chin, and his entire atmosphere conveyed the idea of capacity, resource,
and energy. It pleased Allerdyke, too, to see that the young man was
attentive to his own personal appearance--his well-cut garments bore the
undoubted stamp of the Savile Row tailor; the silk hat which covered his
crop of sandy hair was the latest thing in Sackville Street headgear;
from top to toe he was the smart man-about-town. And that was the sort
of man Marshall Allerdyke liked to have about him, and to see as heads of
his departments--not fops, nor dandies, but men who knew the commercial
value of good appearance and smart finish.

"I didn't know you were in town, Mr. Allerdyke," said the London manager
quietly. "Still, one never knows where you are these days."

"I've scarcely known that myself, my lad, these last seventy-two hours,"
replied Allerdyke. "You mightn't think it, but at this time yesterday I
was going full tilt up to Edinburgh. I want to tell you about that,
Ambler--I want some advice. But business first--aught new?"

"I've brought that South American contract off," replied Appleyard.
"Fixed it this morning."

"Good!" said Allerdyke. "What's it run to, like?"

"Seventy-five thousand," answered Appleyard. "Nice bit of profit on that,
Mr. Allerdyke."

"Good--good!" repeated Allerdyke. "Aught else?"

"Naught--at present. Naught out of the usual, anyway," said the manager.

He took off his hat, laid aside the papers he had been busy with on
Allerdyke's entrance, and twisted his chair round to the hearth. "This
advice, then?" he asked quietly. "I'm free now."

"Aye!" said Allerdyke. He sat r