“I want you to take the boy I have brought with me to board.”
“Land sakes! I don't keep a boardin' house!”
“No; but if I will make it worth your while you will take him, won't you?”
“How much will you give?” asked Mrs. Barton, shrewdly.
“Four dollars a week.”
“He'll be a sight of trouble,” said the lady; but there was something in her tone that satisfied Ford that she was favorably inclined to the proposal.
“Oh, no, he won't. He's so small that you can twist him round your finger. Besides, Abner will be company for him. He will be with him most of the time.”
“Say five dollars and it's a bargain,” said Mrs. Barton.
Ford hesitated. He did not care to spend more than he was obliged to, but it was of importance to obtain at least a temporary refuge for the boy, of whose care he was heartily tired. It seemed to him that five dollars would be enough to support the whole family in the style in which they were apparently accustomed to live. However, it was politic to make the sum sufficient to interest these people in retaining charge of the boy.
“Well,” he said, after a pause, “it's more than I expected to pay, but I suppose I shall have to accept your terms. I conclude Mr. Barton will not object to your taking a boarder?”