"I'll try to," replied the boy. "Many thanks to you for your kindness."
"If you come down in my neighborhood drop in and see me."
"Thank you, I will with pleasure," was Richard's reply.
"We will go right upstairs to the stock-room," said Mr. Mann, after Mr. Joyce had departed. "We have a large pile of pamphlets and books which the clerk we discharged left all mixed up. I was just assisting the stock-clerk in making out a new division of the department."
Entering the elevator, they were soon taken to a floor three stories above. The stock-room was in the rear, the large windows overlooking an alley.
The place was piled high with books of all descriptions, some in sets and others separate, from cheap reprints to costly volumes filled with etchings and engravings.
"Here, Mr. Massanet, I've brought a young man to help you," said Mr. Mann, addressing the clerk in charge, a pleasant-looking fellow apparently not many years older than Richard.
He came forward and gave the boy a kindly look of welcome.
"We need help here," he said. "There is plenty to do."
"His name is Dare—Richard Dare," continued Mr. Mann. "I do not know him, but a friend recommended him."