“Yes, it did. Boys wasn’t so extravagant in them days.”
“I don’t believe you were ever extravagant, Mr. Tripp,” said Chester, with a tinge of sarcasm which his employer didn’t detect.
“No, I wasn’t. I don’t want to brag, but I never spent a cent foolishly. Do you know how much money I spent the first three months I was at work?”
“A dollar?” guessed Chester.
“A dollar!” repeated Mr. Tripp, in a tone of disapproval. “No, I only spent thirty-seven cents.”
“Then I don’t wonder you got rich,” said Chester, with a curl of the lip.
“I ain’t rich,” said Silas Tripp, cautiously. “Who told you I was?”
“Everybody says so.”
“Then everybody is wrong. I’m a leetle ’forehanded, that’s all.”
“I’ve heard people say you could afford to give up work and live on the interest of your money.”