"
"Are you sure?"
"Positive, sir. Dare, here, helped me ship it off."
Mr. Mann turned to Richard.
"That's so, Mr. Mann," put in the latter. "And I remember well that
before the last box went down we hunted high and low to see that nothing
that was damaged in the least should be left behind."
"Well, it's mighty queer how those people in Troy should get twenty
odd volumes of damaged stock. We'll have to make a reduction in their
bill, I suppose. Be careful of the goods shipped in the future."
And with this retort Mr. Mann took the elevator and went below.
"I can't see how those people could have got a single damaged volume,"
said Richard when the head of the firm had departed. "I remember that
box well, and every volume in it was perfect."
On returning to the Massanets' that evening Frank heard bad news. An
aunt had died over in Port Richmond, on Staten Island. His mother had
gone to the place at once, and wished her son to come to the funeral,
on the following afternoon.
"Of course I'll have to go," said Frank to Richard. "I'll stop at the
store on my way down and let the firm know, and also help you enough
to get along while I am gone."
This Frank did. He readily obtained permission from Mr. Williams to
be absent, and at ten o'clock Richard found himself in sole charge of
the stockroom.
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