"'Well, we'll soon find out,' the clerk cried, with an awful burst of speed, striking a bell upon his desk.
"'George,' he said to the boy, 'run around to Crecy & Brown's, will you, and see if they have a telephone.'
"I sat there for twenty minutes, discussing the weather, the Derby winner, and all the other favorite English subjects before the boy came back.
"'Yes, sir,' the boy reported, 'Crecy & Brown have a telephone, sir.
Their number is 485 Gerard, sir.'
"The clerk got me the number this time, and I did fairly well. Then I sat down.
"'Did you want to call another number?' he asked me.
"'No, not two in the same day,' I said; 'but over in America we always pass out something to the operator when she gives us wrong information like that—just for the good of the service.'
"'I suppose I ought to reprimand her,' the clerk admitted—'call her down, as you would say.'
"'If you don't, I will,' I told him.
"'Oh, I had much better do it,' he replied, hastily, taking the receiver in his hand.