uld still read it as he
leaned back in his chair, he was enabled to look at things in general
through a different atmosphere. In the first place, Lilian Dale's
husband ought to have a room to himself, with a carpet and an
arm-chair; and then that additional hundred a year would raise his
income at once to the sum as to which the earl had made some sort of
stipulation. But could he get that leave of absence at Easter? If he
consented to be Sir Raffle's private secretary, he would make that a
part of the bargain.

At this moment the door of the big room was opened, and Mr Kissing
shuffled in with very quick little steps. He shuffled in, and coming
direct up to John's desk, flopped his ledger down upon it before its
owner had had time to close the drawer which contained the precious
letter.

"What have you got in that drawer, Mr Eames?"

"A private letter, Mr Kissing."

"Oh;--a private letter!" said Mr Kissing, feeling strongly convinced
there was a novel hidden there, but not daring to express his belief.
"I have been half the morning, Mr Eames, looking for this letter to
the Admiralty, and you've put it under S!" A bystander listening
to Mr Kissing's tone would have been led to believe that the whole
Income-tax Office was jeopardised by the terrible iniquity thus
disclosed.

"Somerset House," pleaded Johnny.

"Psha;--Somerset House! Half the offices in London--"

"You'd better ask Mr Love," said Eames. "It's all done under his
special instructions." Mr Kissing looked at Mr Love; and Mr Love
looked steadfastly at his desk. "Mr Love knows all about the
indexing," continued Johnny. "He's index master general to the
department."

"No, I'm not, Mr Eames," said Mr Love, who rather liked John Eames,
and hated Mr Kissing with his whole heart. "But I believe the
indexes, on the whole, are very well done in this room. Some people
don't know how to find letters."

"Mr Eames," began Mr Kissing, still pointing with a finger of bitter
reproach to the misused S, and beginning an oration which was
intended for the benefit of the whole room, and for the annihilation
of old Mr Love, "if you have yet to learn that the word Admiralty
begins with A and not with S, you have much to learn which should
have been acquired before you first came into this office. Somerset
House is not a department." Then he turned round to the room at
large, and repeated the last words, as though they might become very
useful if taken well to heart--