Jim followed into the cottage sitting room, where his mother eyed the two anxiously.
"I thought something must have happened," she said. "Did you have trouble finding the pond?"
Mr. Dennis smiled genially. "Not a bit! I was just getting acquainted with your boy. He's quite a lad, Mrs. Manning, and I'm going to tell you I'll be glad to have him in me house. Now I'll just tell you what me house is like and what we'll have to expect of each other."
After an hour's talk Dennis said: "I will give you fifty dollars a month and board and lodging for the lad."
Mrs. Manning flushed with relief. Jim, who had not said a word since coming into the house, spoke suddenly in his father's own drawl:
"I don't want anyone to give me my keep. I'll take care of the furnace and do the work round the house you pay a man to do, and if that isn't enough to pay for keeping me, I'll work for you in your office Saturdays."
Mr. Dennis looked at the tall boy keenly, then said whimsically, "Well, I thought you'd been smitten dumb."
"He's very still, Jim is, except when he's fearfully worked up. All the Mannings are that way," said his mother.
Mr. Dennis nodded. "The house takes lots of care. Your mother will get a maid to help her and I'll let the man go who has been doing janitor service for me. With this arrangement, I'll make your mother's salary $65 a month."
And so the decision was made.