Hugh was a general assistant to Jonas Mulberry, the Principal Clerk. A bald man of about forty, Mulberry was good-hearted but a little sour. He would always take time to explain things to Hugh, but he was very quick to find fault if Hugh was in the least hasty or careless. Hugh had been working under him for the past year, and yesterday he had made a serious mistake. He had lost a bill of lading for a consignment of Bradford cloth destined for New York. The Bradford manufacturer had been downstairs in the banking hall asking for his money, but Mulberry had needed to check the bill before authorizing payment, and Hugh could not find the document. They had been obliged to ask the man to come back in the morning.
In the end Hugh had found the bill, but he had spent most of the night worrying about it, and this morning he had devised a new system of dealing with papers for Mulberry.
On the table in front of him he had two cheap wooden trays, two oblong cards, a quill pen and an inkwell. He wrote slowly and neatly on one card:
For the attention of the Principal Clerk
On the second card he wrote:
Having been dealt with by the Principal Clerk
He carefully blotted his writing then fixed one card to each tray with tacks. He put the trays on Jonas Mulberry's table and stood back to survey his work. At that moment Mr. Mulberry came in. "Good morning, Mr. Hugh," he said. All family members were addressed this way at the bank because otherwise there would be confusion among all the different Mr. Pilasters.
"Good morning, Mr. Mulberry."
"And what the dickens is this?" Mulberry said tetchily, looking at the trays.
"Well," Hugh began. "I found that bill of lading."
"Where was it?"
"Mixed up with some letters you had signed."
Mulberry narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to say it was my fault?"
"No," Hugh said quickly. "It's my responsibility to keep your papers in order. That's why I've instituted the tray system--to separate papers you've already dealt with from papers you haven't yet looked at."
Mulberry grunted noncommittally. He hung his bowler hat on the hook behind the door and sat down at the table. Finally he said: "We'll try it--it might be quite effective. But next time, have the courtesy to consult me before implementing your ingenious ideas. This is my room, after all, and I am the Principal Clerk."
"Certainly," Hugh said. "I'm sorry." He knew he should have asked Mulberry's permission, but he had been so keen on his new idea that he had not had the patience to wait.
