"Have you any objections to telling me how you have succeeded in your efforts to make a living?" asked the old gentleman, with a keen but kindly glance.
"I have been disappointed, sir," was the candid reply.
"I am not surprised to hear it. A boy brought up as you have been cannot rough it like a farmer's son or a street boy."
"I think I could, sir; but I should not like to."
"Precisely. Now, I am not sure that you acted wisely in undertaking a task so difficult, since it was not necessary, and your stepfather could hardly have refused to support you at home. However, as you have taken the decisive step, we must consider what is best to do under the circumstances. What work have you been doing?"
"I have been selling tea for the Great Pekin Tea Company."
"How have you succeeded?"
"I have not been able to pay expenses," Frank admitted.
"How have you made up the difference?"
"I brought about fifty dollars with me from home."