They talked on till the room grew dark. Finally Billy said:
“Mr. Murphy asked me when I am going back to the office.”
For a minute Mr. Prescott didn’t say anything. Then he said slowly:
“Billy, while you’ve been with me, have you ever thought that you would like to stay here all the time?”
Billy waited a moment.
“No, Mr. Prescott,” he said slowly.
Mr. Prescott moved uneasily in his chair, but he didn’t say anything.
After a little while Billy said:
“This is too nice a place for a boy that works.”
“See here, Billy Bradford,” said Mr. Prescott, sharply, “we’ll have none of that! That sounds like William Wallace. He was telling you to let me down easy, was he?