He found that 18 Morgan Avenue was a dreary structure, appearing as if it had been standing twenty years too long. The wooden stairs creaked as he rested his weight on first one sore foot and then the other. Room 36 was at the top of the five-story building, and it seemed ages before he reached the doorway. The only sign of furnishing in the room was a hard bench, occupied by three men. Dick had to stand while his feet tortured him, but it was hopeful to see men waiting—the job wasn't filled!
Suddenly a door at the opposite side of the room jerked open and a man dashed through.
"Get out of here! The man's insane!"
Two of the men followed, but the man who remained on the bench glanced at Dick, grinned, shrugged his shoulders and entered the door. A moment later his booming voice could be heard through the thin partition, although his words were not clear.
An hour passed while Dick waited. When the man came out, with a smile on his face, he wished Dick luck and headed for the stairway.
Barrow felt a queer sensation as he stepped through the inner doorway. A man faced him in a huge leather chair across the room. At least Dick thought he was a man. Grotesque in every way, his body was small while his head was twice as large as normal. He was light complexioned, with almost white hair thinly covering the top of his enormous head. His features were finely cut, with large aquiline nose. He was not repulsive, and smiled in welcome as Dick hesitated at the threshold. When he spoke his tone was soft and musical.
"Welcome, stranger. You have come in answer to my advertisement and I will explain without wasting time. But first tell me about yourself."
Going over his complete life history, including the two years in college, Dick came to the lean years when his father died. He hesitated slightly not proud of this period.
"Go on, Mr. Barrow. It is not important to have been a success in business, and I will not consider that in your applications. It isn't what you have done, but what you want to do, that interests me."
He spoke with a strange accent, that Dick didn't recognize. But he was pleasant and made it easy to talk.