‘Now, your duty will be to meet me here at ten, and execute the various commissions that lie within this radius.’
George didn’t quite understand, but he said, ‘Certainly, sir,’ and sat himself down on a stool.
‘The correspondence this morning is not heavy, and there are no commissions, so you can open this ledger. Do you know how to open a ledger?’
‘Certainly,’ said George. How could the old gentleman think him such a fool as not to know how to open a book!
George took the ledger and opened it. The old gentleman smiled.
‘You can write a name at the top of each page.’
‘What name?’
‘What name?—well—ah! Look here, take the City Directory lying on the desk, and write the top name of each page.’
George thought it singular that the firm should do business with the top name on each page of a directory, but he knew how ignorant he was of business matters, and thought he’d better say nothing, or he might be found out.
While he was writing a gentleman came in to see Mr. Brooks.