United States or Iraq ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
You may fancy how eagerly I opened it. It ran as follows: "Messrs. Merrett, Barnacle, and Company are in receipt of Frederick Batchelor's application for junior clerkship, and in reply " "What?" I gasped to myself, as I turned over the leaf. " would like to see Batchelor at their office on Saturday next at 10:15." I could hardly believe my eyes. I rushed to my uncle and showed him the letter.
"Free list?" said Merrett, as the manager retired, "I didn't know there was one." "There isn't. Only he and I palled up so much the other day that he offered me a tea for nothing." "Didn't you take it?" "No. I went to Cook's." "Rotten hole, Cook's. I'm never going there again," said Chadwick. "You take my tip, Dun, old chap, and come here." "Dun, old chap," smiled amiably.
"All serene," said I, "if you'll promise the same." "Yes," said he. "Mind, honour bright, Fred." And so we parted, he to pace up and down the street for a long quarter of an hour, and I to present myself before the awful presence of Messrs. Merrett, Barnacle, and Company.
Pass up those tea-cakes when you've helped yourself, Crow. I got them for twopence apiece not bad, eh? I say, I suppose you've heard what's up in Hawk Street, eh? jam to the Field-Marshal there. Yes, Harris of the Imports told me: he heard it from Morgan, who knows a fellow who knows old Merrett. Plenty more potted meat in the cupboard; get out some, Batchelor, that's a good fellow.
Mr Barnacle, the junior partner, who had a sharp voice and a stern face, undertook my examination, Mr Merrett only coming in occasionally with some mild observation. "You are Batchelor," said Mr Barnacle, when I had entered and carefully closed the door behind me. I noticed he held in his hand my original letter of application. "You are Frederick Batchelor. How is it you are late?"
I stood outside on the bench, looking through the wire netting over the door, so as not to be in the way when they started scrapping. O'Hara and Rand-Brown took off their blazers and sweaters, and chucked them to Moriarty and Merrett, and then Moriarty and Merrett went and stood in two corners, and O'Hara and Rand-Brown walked into the middle and stood up to one another.
Then O'Hara said that as I was the only one there with a watch he and Rand-Brown were in footer clothes, and Merrett and Moriarty hadn't got their tickers on them I'd better act as timekeeper. So I said all right, I would, and we went to the second fives-court. It's the biggest of them, you know.
He walked over to school with Merrett, of Seymour's, and Ruthven, of Donaldson's, both notorious outsiders. When Linton wanted him to come and play fives after school, he declined on the ground that he was teaing with Chadwick, of Appleby's. Now in the matter of absolute outsiderishness Chadwick, of Appleby's, was to Merrett, of Seymour's, as captain is to subaltern.
Everyone in the house is jolly sick with Merrett. They think he ought to have owned up." "Did that smash up Merrett's show? Is he going to turn out any more?" "Rather not. Who'd buy 'em?" It would have been better for the Lines Supplying Trust if Merrett had not received this crushing blow and had been allowed to carry on a rival business on legitimate lines.
"I did say," mildly replied I. "I got a letter." "What's that to do with it? I got a letter to-day, didn't I, Wallop, to tell me my washerwoman had changed her address. But that's no reason for my coming here." This was perfectly sound reasoning. So I amended my explanation. "I got a letter from Merrett, Barnacle, and Company. "Messrs.
Word Of The Day