E-text prepared by Clarity and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries (https://archive.org/details/americana) LOVE AND THE IRONMONGER BY F. J. RANDALL LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY. MCMVIII WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES. CONTENTS LOVE AND THEIRONMONGER A PLAIN TALE OF UPPER THAMES STREET Chapter I—What came to George Early through a Keyhole Chapter I The offices of Fairbrother and Co. were in the full swing of business when George Early sauntered in and took his accustomed place at a small desk. The "What time do you call this?" asked the head clerk severely, looking up from a ledger. George looked at his watch. "Half-past eight," he said intelligently; "that makes me half an hour late, doesn't it? Matter of fact, old chap, I——" "That'll do," said the head clerk; "just you keep your place. And keep your time, too," he added warningly, "or else there'll be a vacancy in this office." He marched off with a ledger under his arm, and George, with a wink at his nearest colleague, pulled a
Back
Top