Unfortunately for the distinguished old firm of Heap and Trotwood, "publishers of fine works", Bristow has chosen them as his intended publishers. The hapless Mr. Tasker, the firm’s reviewer, must wade through each one of his offerings. He always seems to get them on a Friday afternoon and has to ruin his weekend deciding how best to reject them. Then he comes in on Monday, is invariably greeted with "Good Morning Mr Tasker nice weekend?" and invariably utters a heartfelt groan and a "Don't ask", before venting his disgust on the offending manuscript.

Somehow his interlocuter always gets the wrong end of the stick and makes wild guesses about the books just from the titles. A few choice examples:

Tasker knows better. He recoils whenever one of Bristow’s dog-eared manuscripts arrives and he winces at every word. Quite why he bothers to read them at all is a mystery. The question is not will he reject but how will he do it. Perhaps a threatening letter or a poem as excruciating as one of Bristow's own. Or maybe just stoke up the old fire strip 4975.

Incidentally it is not always clear just who Mr. Heap and Mr. Trotwood may be. But If you look carefully at strip 4975 you may make out two portraits on the wall. The one on the right marked "Trotwood" seems to resemble Mr Tasker's companion, so it is Mr. Heap who is the missing partner in the firm.

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