It was so early, indeed, that no one of the employees had arrived when the son of the senior partner, bag in hand, pushed open the street door and entered the long store, at the far end of which the porter was still tidying up for the day's work.
"An' is that you, Mister Paul?" Mike asked in surprise, as he came out of the private office to see who the early visitor might be. "An' what brought ye out o' your bed before breakfast like this?"
"I always get out of bed before breakfast," Paul replied. "Don't you?"
"Would I get up if I hadn't got to get up to get my livin'?" the porter replied.
Paul entered the office, followed by Mike, still wondering why the young man was there at that hour.
After a swift glance round the office Paul put down his bag on the table and turned suddenly to the porter with a question.
Mike looked at the clock in the corner before answering.
"It'll be ten minutes," he said, "or maybe twenty, before the boy does be here to-day, seein' it's Monday mornin', an' he'll be tired with not workin' of Sunday."
"Ten minutes," repeated Paul, slowly. After a moment's thought he continued, "Then I'll have to ask you to go out for me, Mike."
"I can go anywhere ye want, Mister Paul," the porter responded.
"I want you to go----" began Paul, "I want you to go----" and he hesitated, as though he was not quite sure what it was he wished the porter to do, "I want you to go to the office of the _Gotham Gazette_ and get me two copies of yesterday's paper. Do you understand?"
"Maybe they won't be open so early in the mornin'," said the Irishman.
"That's no matter," said Paul, hastily correcting himself; "I mean that I want you to go there now and get the papers if you can. Of course, if the office isn't open I shall have to send again later."
"I'll be goin' now, Mister Paul," and Mike took his hat from a chair and started off at once.
Paul walked through the store with the porter. When Mike had gone the young man locked the front door and returned at once to the private office in the rear. He shut himself in, and lowered all the shades so that whatever he might do inside could not be seen by any one on the outside.
Whatever it was he wished to do he was able to do it swiftly, for in less than a minute after he had closed the door of the office he opened it again and came out into the main store with his bag in his hand. He walked leisurely to the front of the store, arriving just in time to unlock the door as the office-boy came around the corner smoking a cigarette.