The rain had ceased falling, so he crossed the Place, and at once found himself at Mazaud's. Unlike the majority of his colleagues, the young broker had his private abode on the first floor of the very house in which his offices were situated. He had, in fact, simply taken over the rooms occupied by his uncle, when, on the latter's death, he had agreed with his joint heirs to purchase the business. It was striking ten o'clock, and Saccard went straight up to the offices, at the door of which he met Gustave Sédille. 'Is Monsieur Mazaud in?' 'I do not know, monsieur; I have just come.' The young man smiled; always a late arrival, he took things at his ease, like the mere unpaid amateur he was, quite resigned to spending a year or two in this fashion, in order to please his father, the silk manufacturer of the Rue des Jeûneurs. Saccard passed through the outer office, saluted by both cashiers, the one who dealt with specie and the one who dealt with stock, and then entered the room set aside for the two 'authorised clerks,' where he only found Berthier, the one whose duty was to receive customers, and who accompanied his employer to the Bourse. 'Is Monsieur Mazaud in?' 'Why, I think so; I just left his private room. But no--he isn't there. He must be in the "cash" office.' He pushed open a door near at hand, and glanced round a rather large room, in which live employees were at work, under the orders of a head clerk. 'No; that's strange. Look for yourself in the "account" office there, yonder.' Saccard entered the account office. It was there that the head accountant, the pivot of the business as it were, aided by seven employees,[12] went through the memorandum-book, handed him by the broker every afternoon after the Bourse, and entered to the various customers the sales and purchases which had been effected according to their orders. In doing this, he referred to the numerous _fiches_ in order to ascertain the customers' names, for these did not appear in the memorandum-book, which contained only brief notes of the transactions: such a stock, such an amount bought or sold, at such a rate, from such a broker. 'Have you seen Monsieur Mazaud?' inquired Saccard.