then, you two," cried Mr Doubleday, looking round; "there you are,
larking about as usual. Go off to your work, young Import, do you hear?
and don't stand grinning there!"

Poor Jack looked like anything but grinning at that moment.

"I'll do the best I can," I said, "but I'm afraid Barnacle will be in a
wax unless you ask him yourself."

"I can't help it," said Jack, "I must go."

"Eh? what's that?" said Doubleday, who was near enough to hear this
conversation; "who must go?"

"Smith has just heard that his sister's ill," I said, by way of
explanation, and hoping to enlist the chief clerk's sympathy, "and he
must go to her, that's all."

"Hullo!" interposed Crow, "you don't mean to say he's got a sister. My
eyes, what a caution! Fancy a female bull's-eye, Wallop, eh?"

"So you may say," said Wallop the cad, laughing. "I guess I wouldn't
fancy her, if she's like brother Johnny."

"And he's got to go to her, poor dear thing, because she's got a cold in
her nose or something of the sort. Jolly excuse to get off work. I
wish _I'd_ got a sister to be ill too."

"Never mind," said Wallop; "if you'd been brought up in gaol you'd be
subject to colds. It's a rare draughty place is Newgate."

No one but myself had noticed Jack during this brief conversation. His
face, already pale and troubled, grew livid as the dialogue proceeded,
and finally he could restrain himself no longer.

Dashing from his desk, he flew at Wallop like a young wolf, and before
that facetious young gentleman knew where he was he was lying at full
length on the floor, and Jack standing over him, trembling with fury
from head to foot.

It was the work of an instant, and before more mischief could be done
Doubleday had interposed.

"Look here," said he, catching Jack by the arm and drawing him away from
his adversary, "we aren't used to that here, I can tell you! Go to your
desk! Do you hear? There's the governor coming up! A nice row you'll
get us into with your temper! Come, you Wallop, up you get, I say--you
beast! I'm jolly glad the young 'un walked into you. Serves you right!
Look alive, or you'll be nobbled!"

The result of these exertions was that when the door opened half a
minute later the office was, to all appearance, as quiet as usual.

To our surprise, the comer was not Mr Barnacle, who usually arrived
first, but Mr Merrett, who on other days hardly ever put in an
appearance till an hour later.

What was the re