"This package to the room of the Clerk in the City Hall, and bring back a receipt bearing his signature."
Mickey saluted, laid the note inside the cover of a book, put it in the middle of the package, and a second later his gay whistle receded down the hall.
"'Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it,'" Douglas quoted. "Mickey has been trained until he would make a good trainer himself."
In one-half the time the trip had taken the messenger boys Douglas was accustomed to employing, Mickey was back like the Gulf in the Forum, demanding "more."
"See what you can do for these rooms, until the next errand is ready," suggested Douglas.
Mickey began gathering up the morning papers, straightening the rugs, curtains and arranging the furniture.
"Hand this check to the janitor," said Douglas. "And Mickey, kindly ask him if two dollars was what I agreed to pay him for my extras this week."
"Sure!" said Mickey.
Douglas would have preferred "Yes sir," but "Sure!" was a permanent ejaculation decorating the tip of Mickey's tongue. The man watching closely did not fail to catch the flash of interest and the lifting of the boy figure as he paused for instructions. When he returned Douglas said casually: "While I am at it, I'll pay off my messenger service. Take this check to the address and bring a receipt for the amount."
Mickey's comment came swiftly: "Gee! that boy would be sore, if he lost his job!"