With an inward groan, Uriah took out the amount, handed back the change, and crossed the account from the book.
"Got anything to do?" he asked, a sudden idea flashing through his head.
"Not yet."
"I might take you on here—I need a boy."
"And what would you pay?" questioned Ralph, although he knew about what to expect from the miserly man he was addressing.
"Well, I'd be willin' to pay a big boy like you two dollars and a half a week. I wouldn't pay a small boy so much."
"Thank you, but I wouldn't work for that, even if I cared to work for you, Mr. Dicks. Two dollars and a half wouldn't run our house."
"I would let you have your groceries at cost," said Uriah, as an extra inducement.
The truth was, many of his customers had upbraided him for aiding in the discharge of Ralph as bridge tender, and he wished to set himself right with these folks.
"I do not care to work for you, sir. I think I can get work I will like better and which will pay more elsewhere."