Farrington and Mr Alleyne’s relationship

Farrington and Mr Alleyne’s relationship is an antagonistic workplace hierarchy in which managerial authority meets a worker’s mounting anger and precarious dependence on wages. Mr Alleyne controls Farrington’s assignments and can threaten his position; Farrington, meanwhile, is already resentful of the treatment he receives and longs for money and drink. A public exchange turns that imbalance into open conflict, but not into a change of power: Farrington must apologize and leaves expecting a harsher working life.

Workplace Authority and Grievances

When Farrington enters Mr Alleyne’s room, his employer immediately demands to know why a contract between Bodley and Kirwan has not been copied by the four o’clock deadline. Farrington begins to explain that Mr Shelley had said something, but Mr Alleyne cuts him off and insists that Farrington attend to his own instructions. He frames the unfinished work as another instance of shirking and warns that he will take the matter to Mr Crosbie if the copy is not completed that evening.

Mr Alleyne’s reprimand reaches beyond the task. He complains that Farrington takes an hour and a half for lunch instead of the allotted half-hour, presenting the duration of the break as evidence of a broader failure to obey. Farrington answers only, “Yes, sir.” Mr Alleyne then returns to his papers, while Farrington looks at him in silence. The contrast between the terse compliance and the anger Farrington suppresses establishes how little room he has to answer his employer on equal terms.

Resentment and Dependence

The conflict is not limited to the immediate dispute over work. As Mr Alleyne bends over his papers, Farrington imagines the fragility of the man whose decisions govern the office, and rage briefly grips him. That anger passes into thirst: he thinks he needs a night of drinking. His financial position also ties his hopes to the employer he resents. Since the middle of the month has passed, completing the copy in time may lead Mr Alleyne to give him an order on the cashier.

This dependence makes the relationship both material and emotional. Farrington considers asking the cashier for an advance but dismisses the prospect, and his later search for money continues as he waits outside for the cashier. At the same time, he remembers that the antagonism with Mr Alleyne began when the employer overheard him mimicking Mr Alleyne’s North of Ireland accent to amuse Higgins and Miss Parker. Farrington also recalls that Mr Alleyne had forced little Peake out of the office to make room for his own nephew. These recollections feed his expectation that Mr Alleyne will not give him an hour’s rest and that the office will become a hell for him.

Public Confrontation

Later, Farrington is called twice before he responds. Mr Alleyne and Miss Delacour are standing outside the counter, and the clerks have turned to watch. Mr Alleyne accuses Farrington of losing two letters; Farrington says he knows nothing about them and has made a faithful copy. The accusation intensifies in front of the assembled office, and Farrington struggles to restrain his anger.

Instead of simply denying fault again, Farrington tells Mr Alleyne, “I don't think, sir, that that's a fair question to put to me.” The clerks pause, surprised, and Miss Delacour smiles. Mr Alleyne flushes and threatens that Farrington will either apologize or leave the office immediately. The retort briefly disrupts the usual script of reprimand and submission, but the threat makes clear that Mr Alleyne still has the power to set the consequences.

Apology and Continuing Conflict

After the confrontation, Farrington waits by a doorway to see whether the cashier will come out alone. The other clerks leave, and the cashier finally appears with the chief clerk, making it impossible for Farrington to ask him privately for help. Farrington has already been obliged to offer Mr Alleyne an abject apology. The scene therefore ends not with reconciliation or vindication, but with submission under pressure and uncertainty about money.

Farrington expects the office to become a “hornet's nest” for him and believes Mr Alleyne will make his life intolerable. He is angry with his employer, himself, and everyone else, and regrets not having kept quiet. Yet the underlying grievance remains: he recalls an earlier act of favoritism involving Peake, while his own need for an order on the cashier makes continued compliance financially important. Their relationship is defined by this unequal contest—Mr Alleyne’s control of work and employment against Farrington’s resentment, which occasionally breaks through in speech but cannot remove his dependence.