Young Hayward attended to his business closely, and when Mr. Middleton was absent from the floor, or busy, he impartially distributed the firm’s telephoned buying or selling orders among the two-dollar brokers, for Tracy & Middleton did a very good commission business indeed. He was a nice-looking and nice-acting little chap, was Hayward—clean-faced, polite, and amiable. The brokers liked him, and they “remembered” him at Christmas. The best memory was possessed by “Joe” Jacobs, who gave him $25, and insinuated that he would like to do more of Tracy & Middleton’s business than he had been getting. “But,” said Sally, “the firm said I was to give the order to whichever broker I found first.” “Well,” said Jacobs, oleaginously, “I am never too busy to take orders from such a nice young fellow as yourself, if you take the trouble to find me; and I’ll do something nice for you. Look here,” in a whisper, “if you give me plenty of business, I’ll give you $5 a week.” And he dived into the mob that was yelling itself hoarse about the Gotham Gas post. Hayward’s first impulse was to tell his firm about it, because he felt vaguely that Jacobs would not have offered him $5 a week if he had not expected something dishonorable in return. Before the market closed, however, he spoke to Willie Simpson, MacDuff & Wilkinson’s boy, whose telephone was next to Tracy & Middleton’s. Sure enough, Willie expressed great indignation at Jacobs’s action. “It’s just like that old skunk,” said Willie. “Five dollars a week, when he can make $100 out of the firm. Don’t you do it, Sally. Why, Jim Burr, who had the place before you, used to get $20 a week from old man Grant and $50 a month from Wolff. You’ve got a cinch, if you only know how to work it. Why, they are supposed to give you fifty cents a hundred.” Willie had been in the business for two years, and he was a very well-dressed youth, indeed. Sally now understood how he managed it on a salary of $12 a week. He did not say anything to the firm that day, nor any other day. And he didn’t say anything to Jacobs in return, but, by Willie’s sage advice, contented himself with merely withholding all orders from that oleaginous personage, until Mr. Jacobs was moved to remonstrate. And Sally, who had learned a great deal in a week under Willie’s tuition, answered curtly: “Business is very bad; the firm is doing hardly anything.” “But Watson told me,” said Jacobs, angrily, “that he was doing a great deal of business for Tracy & Middleton. I want you to see that I get my share, or I’ll speak to Middleton and find out what the trouble is.” “Is that so?” said Sally, calmly. “You might also tell Mr. Middleton that you offered me $5 a week to give you the bulk of our business.”