“I always calkerlate to pay fair wages,” he said; “but I ain't rich, and I can't afford to fling away money.”
“How much do you pay Tom Tripp?” asked Herbert.
He knew, but he wanted to draw Mr. Graham out.
“I pay Thomas a dollar and fifty cents a week,” answered the storekeeper, in a tone which indicated that he regarded this, on the whole, as rather a munificent sum.
“And he works from seven in the morning till nine o'clock at night,” proceeded Herbert.
“Them are the hours,” said Ebenezer, who knew better how to make money than to speak grammatically.
“It makes a pretty long day,” observed Mrs. Carr.
“So it does, ma'am, but it's no longer than I work myself.”
“You get paid rather better, I presume.”
“Of course, ma'am, as I am the proprietor.”