Before Mr. Hatchett had finished his correspondence the door opened, and a tall, thin young man, with a pale face, black hair, large features, and a keen, shrewd expression of countenance, came into the room. ‘Ah! Mr. Beattie--a little late, eh?’--and the lawyer began to discuss with his manager in a low tone the details of the business before them. It was not until that was over that Alec’s existence was remembered. Then his fellow-countryman came up with a smile and shook hands with him. ‘Yes; I think you had better take charge of Mr. Lindsay for the present,’ said Mr. Hatchett. ‘I dare say you will be able to make him useful. And as to that mortgage of the Waste Paper Utilization Company, you had better write at once and refuse their offer. That’s all, I think.’ Alec followed his new acquaintance up two flights of stairs into a small room crowded with tables, every one of which was covered with bundles of papers. ‘This is my den,’ said Beattie, ‘but I thought you would like a room to yourself, so I told them to clear out a little place for you across the passage;’ and he led the way to another room on the same floor. It was small, dusty, and, what was even worse, dark, as a tall building opposite the only window obscured the light. There was no carpet on the floor. In one corner stood an old bookcase with cupboards underneath for papers; and in another there was a dilapidated fireplace. ‘Sorry to put you into such a poor place, but perhaps we’ll be able to get you a better room by-and-by,’ said Beattie with a smile; and Alec assured him that he wanted nothing better. ‘What sort of work would you like to begin with?’ asked the managing clerk, with another smile. ‘Conveyancing? or common law? or chancery practice?’ ‘Really, I don’t know. Whatever department I can be of most use in. I shall have to learn something of all of them, I suppose.’ ‘Conveyancing is my own branch,’ said Beattie. ‘Suppose you begin with that.’ He left the room, and soon returned with an armful of deeds and papers. ‘This,’ he said, touching a blue paper, ‘is an abstract of that deed. Compare it with the deed, and you will see how it is done. Then copy it on these large sheets. Here is one you may use as a model. And then you may try to draw an abstract of this deed,’ and he touched another one as he spoke, ‘in exactly the same way. If you are not sure of anything, come and ask me;’ and, with another smile, Mr. Beattie left the room. Alec could not help admiring the clearness and precision with which the directions were given. He found the work interesting from its novelty, and by no means difficult. He had been busy for an hour or two, when the door slowly opened, and a shabbily-dressed little man with red hair sidled into the room, and, hardly looking at its occupant, began to hunt for a volume among the bookshelves.