human
Our fall trade is just starting up, he said,
gpt
Yes, said Jack.
human
I could drop in any other time--
gpt
No, no, interrupted Mr. Fletcher;
human
Nothing in particular, replied Jack, hesitating.
gpt
I'd thought of going into some business. And then, after a pause:
human
It's no use to mince matters. You know--everybody knows, I suppose--that I got hit in that Henderson panic.
gpt
So did lots of others, replied Mr. Fletcher, cheerfully.
human
Yes, I know about it. And I'm not sure but it was a lucky thing for me.
gpt
Are you open to an offer?
human
I'm open to almost anything,
gpt
Well, and Mr. Fletcher settled back in his chair,
human
I can give you the situation in five minutes. I've been in this business over thirty years --yes; over thirty-five years. It has grown, little by little, until it's a pretty big business. I've a partner, a first-rate man--he is in Europe now--who attends to most of the buying. And the business keeps spreading out, and needs more care. I'm not as young as I was I shall be sixty-four in October--and I can't work right along as I used to. I find that I come later and go away earlier. It isn't the 'work exactly, but the oversight, the details; and the fact is that I want somebody near me whom I can trust, whether I'm here or whether I'm away. I've got good, honest, faithful clerks--if there was one I did not trust, I wouldn't have him about. But do you know, Jack, it was the first time in the interview that he had used this name--
gpt
Yes,
human
Well, I want a confidential clerk. That's it.
gpt
Me?