meet."

"Probably, sir, you can make it better after you hear his statement."

"Well, possibly it may be so; but I am always in favour of being
prepared. However, we will postpone that for the present. Then there is
the trustee business. That is a private matter of my own, which you will
not understand. I will give you the papers, however, and you can make an
abstract of them. I cannot carry every point in my head. If you are in
any doubt come to me."

"You wish me to say you will go, sir?"

"I should have thought there was no need to ask. You surely do not
suppose that I am to give instructions upon every petty detail! Then
about the navigation: I _must_ have some coal, and that is the long and
the short of it."

The "how" was probably a petty detail, for Mr. Furze went no further with
the subject, and was inclined to proceed with the man at the foundry.

"It will be too late if we wait till the lock is repaired, sir. I
understand it will be three weeks really. Will you write to Ditchfield
and tell them five tons are to come to Millfield Sluice? We will then
cart it from there. That will be the cheapest and the best way."

"Yes, I do not object; but we _must_ have the coal--that is really the
important point. As to Jack in the foundry, I will get somebody else. I
suppose we shall have to pay more."

"How would it be, sir, if you put Sims in Jack's place, and Spurling in
Sims' place? You would then only want a new labourer, and you would pay
no more than you pay now. Sims, too, knows the work, and it might be
awkward to have a new man at the head just now."

"Yes, that may do; but what I wish to impress on you is that the vacancy
_must_ be filled up. That is all, I think; you can take the letters."

Tom took them up and went to his little corner near the window to
reperuse them. There was much to be done which had not been mentioned,
particularly with regard to Mr. Eaton's contract. He took out the
specification, jotted down on a piece of paper the several items, marked
methodically with a cross those which required prompt attention, and
began to write. Mr. Furze, seeing his desk unencumbered, was very well
satisfied with himself. He had "managed" the whole thing perfectly. His
head became clear, the knots were untied, and he hummed a few bars of a
hymn. He then went to his safe, took out the trust papers without
looking at them, handed them over to Tom with a remark that he should
lik