"That would certainly account for his cordiality," said Quarles. "Really, I sympathize with you. Practically, I suppose, you have little to do but answer the door when the bell rings."
"If the office bell rings I pull this catch," the youth said, "and the client walks in. The front door has a spring on it and closes itself. Sometimes a fool will ring the office bell when it's Mrs. Eccles he wants, and that's annoying."
"Very," laughed the professor. "Did any clients call that day?"
"No. A chap wanting to sell some patent office files came and wasted my time for a quarter of an hour; swore that the governor had seen him two or three months ago and told him to call. A rotten patent it was, too."
"He showed them to you?"
"Had a bag full of them. Wanted me to buy the beastly things. I had to be rude to him to get rid of him."
"Did you go to the door with him?"
"Not much!" the youth answered. "I just pulled this catch and told him he would find the door open, and the sooner he got out of it the better. He would have liked to borrow a bob or two, I fancy, but I wasn't parting."
"Did you tell Mr. Portman he had called?"
"I never worried him with callers of that sort."