called a shavehook. The door was ajar and he had opened the top sash
of the window for the purpose of letting in some fresh air, because
the atmosphere of the room was foul with the fumes of the lamp and
the smell of the burning paint, besides being heavy with moisture.
The ceiling had only just been water washed and the walls had just been
stripped. The old paper, saturated with water, was piled up in a heap
in the middle of the floor.

Presently, as he was working he began to feel conscious of some other
presence in the room; he looked round. The door was open about six
inches and in the opening appeared a long, pale face with a huge chin,
surmounted by a bowler hat and ornamented with a large red nose, a
drooping moustache and two small, glittering eyes set very close
together. For some seconds this apparition regarded Owen intently,
then it was silently withdrawn, and he was again alone. He had been
so surprised and startled that he had nearly dropped the lamp, and now
that the ghastly countenance was gone, Owen felt the blood surge into
his own cheeks. He trembled with suppressed fury and longed to be
able to go out there on the landing and hurl the lamp into Hunter's
face.

Meanwhile, on the landing outside Owen's door, Hunter stood thinking.
Someone must be got rid of to make room for the cheap man tomorrow.
He had hoped to catch somebody doing something that would have served
as an excuse for instant dismissal, but there was now no hope of that
happening. What was to be done? He would like to get rid of Linden,
who was now really too old to be of much use, but as the old man had
worked for Rushton on and off for many years, Hunter felt that he
could scarcely sack him off hand without some reasonable pretext.
Still, the fellow was really not worth the money he was getting.