"That"s right. And of course you will give yourself a receipt for it in the company"s name. Curious, isn"t it?"
With which pleasantry Mr Medlock departed, promising to look in frequently, and meanwhile to send in a fresh directory marked, and some new circulars for him to get on with.
Reginald, not quite sure whether it was all as good as he expected, set to work without delay to put into practice the various instructions he had received.
Mr Medlock"s invitation to him to see everything was comfortable could hardly be fully realised on 13 shillings a week. That must wait for Christmas, and meanwhile he must make the best of what he had.
He set Love to work folding and enclosing the new circulars (this time calling attention to some extremely cheap globes and blackboards for ladies" and infants" schools), while he drew himself up a programme of his daily duties, in accordance with his impression of the directors"
wishes. The result of this was that he came to the conclusion he should have his hands very full indeed--a possibility he by no means objected to.
But it was not clear to him how he was to get much outdoor exercise or recreation, or how he was to go to church on Sundays, or even to the bank on weekdays, if the office was never to be left. On this point he consulted Mr Medlock when he called in later in the day, and arranged that for two hours on Sunday, and an hour every evening, besides the necessary walk to the bank, he might lock up the office and take his walks abroad. Whereat he felt grateful and a little relieved.
It was not till about four days after his arrival that the first crop of circulars sown among the clergy yielded their firstfruits. On that day it was a harvest with a vengeance. At least 150 letters arrived. Most of them contained the two pounds and an order for the suit. In some cases most elaborate measurements accompanied the order. Some asked for High Church waistcoats, others for Low; some wished for wideawake hats, others for broad-brimmed clericals. Some sent extra money for a school- boy"s suit as well, and some contained instructions for a complete family outfit. All were very eager about the matter, and one or two begged that the parcel might be sent marked "private."
Reginald had a busy day from morning till nearly midnight, entering and paying in the cash and forwarding the orders to Mr John Smith. He organised a beautiful tabular account, in which were entered the name and address of each correspondent, the date of their letters, the goods they ordered, and the amount they enclosed, and before the day was over the list had grown to a startling extent.
The next day brought a similar number of applications and remittances as to the globes and blackboards, and of course some more also about the clerical suits. And so, from day to day, the post showered letters in at the door, and the secretary of the Select Agency Corporation was one of the hardest worked men in Liverpool.
Master Love meanwhile had very little time for his "penny dreadfuls,"
and complained bitterly of his hardships. And indeed he looked so pale and unhealthy that Reginald began to fear the constant "licking" was undermining his const.i.tution, and ordered him to use a sponge instead of his tongue. But on this point Love"s loyalty made a stand. Nothing would induce him to use the artificial expedient. He deliberately made away with the sponge, and after a battle royal was allowed his own way, and continued to lick till his tongue literally clave to the roof of his mouth.
By the end of a fortnight the first rush of work was over, and Reginald and his henchman had time to draw breath. Mr Medlock had gone to London, presumably to superintend the dispatch of the various articles ordered.
It was about this time that Reginald had written home to Horace complaining of the dulness of his life, and begging him to repay Blandford the 6 shillings 6 pence, which had been weighing like lead on his mind ever since he left town, and which he now despaired of ever being able to spare out of the slender pittance on which he was doomed to subsist till Christmas. Happily that festive season was only a few weeks away now, and then how delighted he should be to send home a round half of his income, and convince himself he was after all a main prop to that dear distant little household.
Had he been gifted with ears sharp enough to catch a conversation that took place at the Bodega in London one evening about the same time, the Christmas spirit within him might have experienced a considerable chill.
The company consisted of Mr Medlock, Mr Shanklin, and Mr Durfy. The latter was present by sufferance, not because he was wanted or invited, but because he felt inclined for a good supper, and was sharp enough to know that neither of his employers could afford to fall out with him just then.
"Well, how goes it?" said Mr Shanklin. "You"ve had a run lately, and no mistake."
"Yes, I flatter myself we"ve done pretty well. One hundred pounds a day for ten days makes how much, Durfy?"
"A thousand," said Durfy.
"Humph!" said Mr Shanklin. "Time to think of our Christmas holidays."
"Wait a bit. We"ve not done yet. You say your two young mashers are still in tow, Alf?"
"Yes; green as duckweed. But they"re nearly played out, I guess. One of them has a little bill for fifty pounds coming due in a fortnight, and t"other--well, he wagered me a hundred pounds on a horse that never ran for the Leger, and he"s got one or two trifles besides down in my books."
"Yes, I got you that tip about the Leger," said Durfy, beginning to think himself neglected in this dialogue of self-congratulation.
"Yes; you managed to do it this time without botching it, for a wonder!"
said Mr Shanklin.
"Yes; and I hope you"ll manage to give me the ten-pound note you promised me for it, Mr S.," replied Durfy, with a snarl. "You seem to have forgotten that, and my commission too for finding you your new secretary."
"Yes. By the way," said Mr Medlock, "he deserves something for that; it"s the best stroke of business we"ve done for a long time. It"s worth three weeks to us to have him there to answer questions and choke off the inquisitive. He"s got his busy time coming on, I fancy. Bless you, Durfy, the fellow was born for us! He swallows anything. I"ve allowed him thirteen shillings a week till Christmas, and he says, "Thank you."
He"s had his name turned inside out, and I do believe he thinks it an improvement! He sticks in the place all day with that young c.o.c.kney gaol-bird you picked us up too, Durfy, and never growls."
"Does he help himself to any of the money?"
"Not a bra.s.s farthing! I do believe he buys his own postage-stamps when he writes home to his mamma!"
This last announcement was too comical to be received gravely.
"Ha, ha! he ought to be exhibited!" said Shanklin.
"He ought to be starved!" said Durfy viciously. "He knocked me down once, and I wouldn"t have told you of him if I didn"t owe him a grudge-- the puppy!"
"Oh, well, I daresay you"ll be gratified some day or other," said Medlock.
"I tell you one thing," said Durfy; "you"d better put a stopper on his writing home too often; I believe he"s put his precious brother up to watch me. Why, the other night, when I was waiting for the postman to get hold of that letter you wanted, I"m blessed if he didn"t turn up and rout me out--he and a young chum of his brother"s that used to be in the swim with me. I don"t think they saw me, luckily; but it was a shave, and of course I missed the letter."
"Yes, you did; there was no mistake about that!" said Mr Shanklin viciously. "When did you ever not miss it?"
"How can I help it, when it"s your own secretary is d.o.g.g.i.ng me?"
"Bless you! think of him d.o.g.g.i.ng any one, the innocent! Anyhow, we can cut off his letters home for a bit, so as to give you no excuse next time."
"And what"s the next job to be, then?" asked Durfy.
"The most particular of all," replied the sporting man. "I want a letter with the Boldham postmark, or perhaps a telegram, that will be delivered to-morrow night by the last post. There"s a fifty pounds turns on it, and I must have it before the morning papers are out.
Never mind what it is; you must get it somehow, and you"ll get a fiver for it. As soon as that"s done, Medlock, and the young dandies" bills have come due, we can order a cab. Your secretary at Liverpool will hold out long enough for us to get to the moon before we"re wanted."
"You"re right there!" said Mr Medlock, laughing. "I"ll go down and look him up to-morrow, and clear up, and then I fancy he"ll manage the rest himself; and we can clear out. Ha, ha! capital sherry, this brand.
Have some more, Durfy."
Mr Medlock kept his promise and cheered Reginald in his loneliness by a friendly visit.
"I"ve been away longer than I expected, and I must say the way you have managed matters in my absence does you the greatest credit, Reginald. I shall feel perfectly comfortable in future when I am absent."
A flush of pleasure rose to Reginald"s cheeks, such as would have moved to pity any heart less cold-blooded than Mr Medlock"s.
"No one has called, I suppose?"
"No, sir. There"s been a letter, though, from the Rev. T. Mulberry, of Woolford-in-the-Meadow, to ask why the suit he ordered has not yet been delivered."
Mr Medlock smiled.
"These good men are so impatient," said he; "they imagine their order is the only one we have to think of. What would they think of the four hundred and odd suits we have on order, eh, Mr Reginald?"
"I suppose I had better write and say the orders will be taken in rotation, and that his will be forwarded in a few days."
"Better say a few weeks. You"ve no notion of the difficulty we have in trying to meet every one"s wishes. Say before Christmas--and the same with the globes and other things. The time and trouble taken in packing the things really cuts into the profits terribly."
"Could we do any of it down here?" said Reginald. "Love and I have often nothing to do."