Then the young fellow came striding importantly down to his counter.

He spied Paul.
"Hello!" he said.

"You the new lad ?" "Yes," said Paul.
"H'm! What's your name ?" "Paul Morel." "Paul Morel?
All right, you come on round here." Paul followed him round the rectangle of counters.

The room was second storey.

It had a great hole in the middle of the floor, fenced as with a wall of counters, and down this wide shaft the lifts went, and the light for the bottom storey.