"Certainly, you were in bad luck," said the squire. "Is the injury serious?"
"The burn is very painful, squire. Mrs. Fogson acted like an idiot. Why didn't she take better aim?"
"To be sure, to be sure. Wasn't the boy scalded at all?"
"Not a particle," answered Fogson in an aggrieved tone. "Now, what I want to know is, didn't I have a right to take the money from Jed?"
"Yes, I think so. The boy would probably have made bad use of it."
"The ground I take, squire, is that a pauper has no right to possess money."
"I quite agree with you. Since the town maintains him, the town should have a right to exact any money of which he becomes accidentally possessed."
"I don't quite see that the town should have it," said Fogson. "As the boy's official guardian, I think I ought to keep it, to use for the boy whenever I thought it judicious."
"Yes, I think that view is correct. I had only given the point a superficial consideration."
"Dr. Redmond denies this. He says I have no right to take the money from Jed."