Bob whistled. "Well! Did you find anything?"
"No."
"Oh, I see—you answered these ads here—may I look them over?"
Judd nodded his consent.
"H-h-hm! Maxwell's! That's a good place. 'Clerk wanted. Young man preferred. No experience necessary. Good opportunity for advancement.' What did they say when you applied?"
Judd was silent. Bob waited an appreciable moment for him to reply.
"Did some other fellow beat you to the place?"
Judd found his voice. "N-no—but—but they wanted a young man who had at least a high-school education."
Bob had a wave of sympathy for his younger brother. "But here's another good place, Buddy. Jackson and Ballard's! You've picked some good ones. 'Filing clerk wanted. We teach you our system. Young man with ambition to get ahead in our line of work desired.' How about this?"
Judd hesitated. "They seemed interested. Then they asked me how much education I'd had. They said they wanted some one that they could send right on up as soon as he got to know the business. They said it was their experience that fellows with high school educations were better fitted for the work…."
Bob was glad that Judd had had this experience. He knew that there were plenty of places that Judd could get work but the better institutions where opportunities for real advancement were greatest almost demanded that a young man's qualifications include a reasonable amount of education.