"Does the boss often come in?"
"He doesn't interfere much. You see he has a good deal of confidence in Mr. Bascom and myself."
"So I thought."
"What made you think so?"
"You seem to talk and act as if you were independent."
"It's a way I have, Bert. As I understand the business thoroughly, more than anybody else, there is no reason why I shouldn't, is there?"
"Oh, no!"
"That is why I enjoy my position so well."
"Do you get paid your wages every Saturday night?"
"Oftener, if I please," answered Jacob Marlowe, seeming amused. "If I happen to get short in the middle of the week, I can draw in advance."