"
Burton turned out of Wenslow Square and approached the offices and
salesrooms of Messrs. Waddington & Forbes with some misgiving. Bearing
in mind the peculiar nature of the business conducted by the firm, he
could only conclude that ruin, prompt and absolute, had been the
inevitable sequence of Mr. Waddington's regrettable appetite. He was
somewhat relieved to find that there were no evidences of it in the
familiar office which he entered with some diffidence.
"Is Mr. Waddington in?" he inquired.
A strange young man slipped from his stool and found his questioner
gazing about him in a bewildered manner. There was much, indeed, that
was surprising in his surroundings. The tattered bills had been torn
down from the walls, the dust-covered files of papers removed, the
ceilings and walls painted and papered. A general cleanliness and sense
of order had taken the place of the old medley. The young man who had
answered his inquiry was quietly dressed and not in the least like the
missing office-boy.
"Mr. Waddington is at present conducting a sale of furniture," he
replied. "I can send a message in if your business is important."
Burton, who had always felt a certain amount of liking for his late
employer, was filled now with a sudden pity for him.
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