At the end of ten minutes he reappeared in the anteroom. All eyes were turned upon him.
“Are you engaged?” asked applicant No. 2.
The tall young man answered complacently, “Not yet, but I probably shall be. Mr. Cunningham will communicate with me.”
He left the room, and No. 2 followed the servant into the advertiser’s presence. He reappeared at the end of five minutes.
“Well?” asked the man of middle age anxiously.
“I think it will be me,” was the reply. “Mr. Cunningham was very social and agreeable. Between ourselves, there isn’t the slightest chance of the other man being taken. He flattered himself too much.”
“Is he going to write to you?”
“Yes. I told him that the first man fully expected the appointment, but he only laughed. I understood what that meant.”
So No. 2 departed and No. 3 was invited into the advertiser’s presence.
He, too, came back at the end of from five to ten minutes, but he did not look as confident as the two who preceded him.