“I hear you have discharged Reuben Deane from his position?”
“How did you hear it?”
“From his son, Larry.”
“Where did you see Larry?” asked Allan, in some curiosity.
“He has been driven to take up that employment which Guy so kindly recommended to me.”
“Larry Deane a bootblack! That’s a good one!” exclaimed Guy, with evident relish.
“I don’t think so,” said Hector. “The poor boy is picking a poor living, and sending home what he can to his father, who cannot get new employment. Mr. Roscoe, why did you discharge him?”
“I can answer that question, though it’s none of your business all the same,” volunteered Guy. “The boy Larry was impudent to me, and his father took his part.”
“Mr. Roscoe,” said Hector, “Reuben Deane was in my father’s employ before I was born. Larry and I used to play together when we were little boys, and since when we were older.”
“A bootblack is a nice playmate,” said Guy, with his usual sneer.