listen. There was something soothing about the grey-bearded one.

'What sort of a man is Bickersdyke?' asked Mike.

'A very able man. A very able man indeed. I'm afraid he's not popular
in the office. A little inclined, perhaps, to be hard on mistakes. I
can remember the time when he was quite different. He and I were fellow
clerks in Morton and Blatherwick's. He got on better than I did. A
great fellow for getting on. They say he is to be the Unionist
candidate for Kenningford when the time comes. A great worker, but
perhaps not quite the sort of man to be generally popular in an
office.'

'He's a blighter,' was Mike's verdict. Mr Waller made no comment. Mike
was to learn later that the manager and the cashier, despite the fact
that they had been together in less prosperous days--or possibly
because of it--were not on very good terms. Mr Bickersdyke was a man of
strong prejudices, and he disliked the cashier, whom he looked down
upon as one who had climbed to a lower rung of the ladder than he
himself had reached.

As the hands of the chop-house clock reached a quarter to two, Mr
Waller rose, and led the way back to the office, where they parted for
their respective desks. Gratitude for any good turn done to him was a
leading characteristic of Mike's nature, and he felt genuinely grateful
to the cashier for troubling to seek him out and be friendly to him.

His three-quarters-of-an-hour absence had led to the accumulation of a
small pile of letters on his desk. He sat down and began to work them
off. The addresses continued to exercise a fascination for him. He was