“Did you ever work on a farm?”
“I have worked a little in that way.”
“Can you milk?”
“Yes.”
“The next question is, how much did you calculate to get?” asked Brackett, cautiously.
“Peter told me how much you gave him,” said Andy.
Mr. Brackett was glad to hear this, as he knew that most boys expected larger wages. He was glad that Andy knew what his predecessor had received.
“Yes,” he said, with the air of a liberal man, “I gave Peter fifty cents a week, though he wasn’t really worth it. Fifty cents and board, and lodgings, and washing,” he added, by way of making the salary seem as munificent as possible.
“It doesn’t seem to me very high pay,” said Andy, who thought it politic to drive a bargain.
“Remember, you’re only a boy,” said Mr. Brackett, “and boys can’t do as much as men. Fifty cents is excellent pay for a boy of—how old be you?”