It’s Monday morning. Arthur and Mary have already gone back to Middleford. Sheila hasn’t returned yet. She is still in Applefield with her aunt. She’s going to go back to Middleford in a couple of days. Bruce, of course, is still in hospital.
Mary and Arthur are once again in the library. It’s ten o’clock. Arthur has been there since ten past nine - he still can’t get there at nine o’clock. Mary has been at the library since five to nine. She has been there for over an hour. She is always early for work. Mr Steele has not yet come to work. He’s the boss so he sometimes comes late but he often stays late. Sometimes he is still there at seven or eight in the evening.
Arthur has a lot of work on his desk. He must send some postcards to the readers. They have ordered some special books and these books have already come into the library. He has already sent a few of postcards but there are still a lot on his desk. He hasn’t sent any for several days.
Now Mr Steele has just come in. He hasn’t gone into his office yet. He’s still standing near the door.
***
- Good morning, Mary. Good morning, Arthur. Have you had a good weekend?
- Yes, thank you, Mr Steele.
- Have there been any telephone messages for me yet?
- No, there haven’t been any calls.
- Good. Now, what have you done this morning, Mary?
- Well, I’ve already taken the old magazines away from the reference section but I haven’t put the new ones out yet.
- Ah, good. Now, Arthur, how long have you been here? Have you been here since nine o’clock?
- Yes, Mr Steele. I’ve been here since nine - well, perhaps five past.
- And what have you done this morning? Have you finished those postcards yet?
- Well, I haven’t finished all of them yet. I’ve still got two or three of them to do.
- But you’ve still got all those on your desk over there. Haven’t you done them yet?
- You mean these? Well, I haven’t had time …
- But you’ve had the for a week or nearly a week.
- I’ve had them since last Wednesday, actually.
- Well, that’s nearly a week. Come into my office for a minute. No, wait a moment. Somebody’s coming.
- Has my copy of A History of Knitting come in yet? I’ve waited six weeks for it.
- Just a minute, madam. Yes, as a matter of fact it’s been here for over a fortnight.
- Well, you haven’t sent me a postcard. You usually do.
- Arthur, come into my office at once!
